


Hunter's Moon

by HarleyJQuin



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alpha Chris Argent, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Banshee Lydia Martin, Canon-Typical Violence, M/M, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Minor Character Death, Warning: Kate Argent, Werewolf Chris Argent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-17 13:14:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 37,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28849638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HarleyJQuin/pseuds/HarleyJQuin
Summary: When his world comes crashing down on him, and his eyes are opened to a truth he hadn't wanted to see. Chris goes back to his roots, and along the way, he corrects wrongs, regains love, and finds a place to belong.
Relationships: Chris Argent/Peter Hale
Comments: 129
Kudos: 309
Collections: Every Fandom Reverse Bang 2020, Suggested Good Reads





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jilly James (Jilly)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jilly/gifts).



> Set a year after the Hale fire, teen’s ages have been altered to fit my whims.  
> Betas/Enablers: [Dark_Nights_Syn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dark_Nights_Syn/pseuds/Dark_Nights_Syn), [QueenieKildare](https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenieKildare).
> 
> Written for the Every Fandom Reverse Bang inspired by art from Jilly James.

**Chapter 1**  
**July 2006**

Victoria stood from the dinner table as she heard the knock at the door. Normally, her daughter Allison would be sprinting for the door expecting one of her friends, but she was at a sleepover at Darcy’s with their friend Mia so they could get their summer assignments out of the way.

She checked the peephole on the door and she saw a tall unkempt man on the doorstep. She carefully opened the door and inquired, “Can I help you?”

He tried to smile, but it ended up looking like a pained grimace. He asked, “Is Christopher Argent home? I have some important information for him.”

“Please wait here, I’ll just go get him.” She said as she turned to shut the door.

The man saw the action for what it was, and he kicked the door open hard enough to smash it to pieces when she started to shut it, before he picked her up and threw her across the room where she crashed hard into the side table. 

Chris came running in from the dining room with his gun out when he heard the crash, but he was too slow and before he could shoot, the beast was on him, biting down hard on his arm to get him to drop the weapon. Before he could react to the pain in his arm, he was spun around and pinned to the nearest wall by his throat with claws starting to pierce his neck.

Chris’ heart dropped when he saw the blazing red eyes as he bit out, “What do you want?”

The wolf in front of him snarled, “I want your family to pay. Your sister has been decimating peaceful packs across the Pacific Northwest. Trapping us in our pack houses before burning them to the ground.”

Chris shook his head as much as he could while being pinned by his throat to the wall, “She wouldn’t do that. Argents follow the code.”

The alpha snarled, “I arrived home late after picking up my little brother from practice. We discovered our family was trapped behind a line of mountain ash. We stayed hidden as we called the police, I thought they were on the way but I found out later she had paid the dispatcher to disregard the call as a prank. Someone in your family has been paying a lot of bribes to get the cases closed as accidents.”

He dragged Chris to the dining room and shoved him into a chair, holding his arms down as he zip-tied them to the chair, making sure both arms were secure. He then grabbed Victoria from where she’d landed in the foyer and secured her in the same manner before he slapped her awake.

Chris watched her look him over for injuries as she noted the blood running down his neck from the claw marks. She demanded, “Christopher? What’s going on?”

Chris glared at the alpha and he bit out, “The alpha is claiming Kate has been killing peaceful packs in the Pacific Northwest. Trapping them in their pack houses then burning the entire packs to the ground.”

Victoria blinked, “She has been taking out the beasts that hunt us. As the code we follow dictates.”

Chris looked at Victoria, gobsmacked, he croaked, “It’s true? She’s killing entire packs, even the children?”

Victoria sneered, “This is why you don’t hunt with us Christopher, you’re too soft to be a real hunter.”

“So my human toddlers were beasts to be hunted?” The wolf snarled, “They deserved being burnt alive?” 

Victoria shrugged, she wasn’t overly worried as she was sure she would be able to kill the beast before he could do any real damage. She wanted to get this dealt with before any of her neighbors noticed the smashed door.

“Victoria,” Chris demanded, “Did you help Kate?”

Victoria gave him a condescending look, “Of course I did, Christopher. Who do you think organized the bribes, arranged which pack’s to attack, and dealt with the cleanup. That’s why I am the public face of Argent Arms and do the negotiations with the law enforcement departments.”

Victoria decided she’d had enough of the pointless conversation, it was time to show the alpha why hunters are feared. She threw herself back in the chair to break it, as she had been trained to do from a young age, but the alpha, while grief-stricken and full of anger for the loss of his pack, he was not what you would consider completely feral so with a rational mind he was on her in seconds, he was so consumed by rage at her complete lack of concern about killing toddlers, he ripped out her throat with enough vehemence to almost take her head off.

Chris felt bad for the guy but he took action as the alpha was distracted, he also threw himself back but he aimed for the gun he had taped under the side table. The alpha turned and he found Chris still cuffed to remnants of the destroyed chair but he had a gun aimed steadily at the alpha’s head.

Chris asked, “Will you stop fighting so I can get you some help?”

The alpha laughed, it had an edge of manic to it and he said, “We tried to get help, they will either side with her just like the investigators did or they will disregard the complaint as lies. My little brother tried to report Kate for statutory rape, you see she seduced him to get information about our family, but they just dismissed it and said he was lying. He committed suicide a week later, the guilt from knowing his actions lead to the death of our entire family was too much for him. He was only fourteen.”

Chris vowed, “I will look into Kate and anyone else who might have helped her, I promise. They will be dealt with for what they have done. But you need help, I have a friend who is the local alpha who can help you integrate back into pack bonds.”

The alpha wanted none of that and he spun to escape out the front door that was still smashed and open, but he froze when he heard Chris cock his gun. “I can’t let you leave while you’re feral. I’m sorry.”

“Dad? What’s going on?” Allison called out as she gingerly stepped through the broken front door of the house.

Chris paled and he called out, “Allison! Stop!”

Allison walked into the room and she froze when took in the scene. She saw her dad with his gun out and her mother with her head nearly separated from the rest of her body, bleeding out on the ground near the doorway to the kitchen, she saw the blood on her dad’s neck and she cried out, “Dad! Are you ok?”

The alpha shifted into his beta shift and he leaped at Allison who, in her terror, screamed at the sight of the transformed monster in front of her.

Chris reacted instantly and instinctively and he shot the alpha before he could get close to Allison. Once the alpha was down he called out sounding almost panicked, “Allison, get behind me! Now!”

The alpha tried to stand and follow Allison but he collapsed, bleeding black goo from several bullet holes along his torso as Allison scrambled across the room. Chris requested, “Go get my phone from my office, I need to make sure he stays down.”

She left the room with a determined look on her face as Chris approached the alpha who was bleeding from several wounds on his torso as he lay on the floor. 

The alpha looked at Chris with suspicion clear on his face as he crouched out of arms reach. He asked, “Can you at least tell me your name so I know what pack to start investigating.”

The wolf closed his eyes and dropped his beta shift as he said, “Cameron Kendrick, my father Joseph Kendrick was the alpha before me.”

Chris nodded, “I have heard of him. He had a treaty with another hunting family, the Owens family. Did they not help you?”

Cameron shook his head, “I went to them for help after the fire and they turned me away. Their matriarch said the treaty was with my father and they refused to aid us or shelter us. They said they wouldn’t pick a fight with the Argent family.”

“Fuckers!” Chris exclaims, “Once Kate and her co-conspirators are dealt with I will have the Owens family censured as oathbreakers.”

Cameron nodded as Allison entered the room holding out her Dad’s cell phone for him.

Allison crouched down beside her mom’s body and she asked, “Dad, what’s going on? What was that thing that you shot, where is it?”

Cameron’s eyes widened when he realized Allison was not raised learning about the supernatural like a normal hunter. He murmured, “She doesn’t know?”

Chris shook his head, “I wanted her to decide if she wanted to be a hunter.” He glanced down at his arm and murmured, “Now, she’s pack and I will do my best to keep her away from the rest of my family.”

Cameron could feel the growing pack bond with the disillusioned hunter so he held out his hand and said under his breath, “Grasp my forearm.”

Chris glanced at his daughter and saw she was occupied trying to work out what happened to her mother, so he gripped the alpha’s forearm. Cameron flared his red eyes and he said quietly, “I trust you to avenge my family and the other families killed in cold blood.”

He flared his eyes one last time and as they faded from red to gold he passed the alpha power to Chris before he closed his eyes for the last time.

Chris laid his arm down and he turned to survey the room, he asked Allison, “Did you touch anything?”

She shook her head, “No, of course not. What happened?”

Chris shook his head, “I will explain after this is all dealt with, ok?” 

Allison nodded her agreement, he looked her over to make sure she had no blood on her and he asked, “Can you go back to Darcy’s until I call you?”

Allison agreed, “Sure, I won’t say anything, I told them I was going to the toilet when I saw the smashed front door through the upstairs window.”

Chris pointed to the back door and he said, “Go through the Madison’s yard and try and get back to Darcy’s without being seen.”

Allison nodded and she gave him a quick hug, being careful not to let any of the blood get on her, before she ran out the back door.

Chris picked up his phone and he called a friend of his. Connor James was a Detective in the Falls Church PD and the local pack alpha. 

When Connor answered he said with no preamble, “Connor, it’s Chris, I need some help.”

Chris quickly outlined what happened with the feral alpha and that the alpha and Victoria were dead and the threat was over.

“I have Jayden with me so we’ll head over after I let the captain know,” Connor confirmed.

Chris breathed a sigh of relief and while he was waiting he rolled down his sleeve to cover up the bite wound that was already starting to heal over. Connor was aware of the difficulties he had with other members of his family. It was well known through the East Coast supernatural community that he only did hunts requested by the council, so the last thing he needed was Connor reporting to the hunter’s council that he had been bitten. Jayden was Connor’s partner with the Falls Church PD and his right hand within the pack.

When they arrived Jaden whistled lowly as he saw the amount of damage inside the house. He took in the scene in the dining room with the dead wolf on the floor with several bullet wounds in his torso and Victoria on the floor with her head almost torn off and he asked, “What happened?”

Chris shrugged, “The guy knocked on the door, and from what I could hear of their exchange Victoria was shutting the door on him when he smashed it open and threw her across the room. I ran in with my gun out but he was too fast and he grabbed me by the throat before he cuffed me to a chair.”

Connor asked, “Any idea why he would attack you?”

Chris shook his head, “He wasn’t attacking me, he was after Victoria. She apparently helped kill his entire pack before she bribed the local police to close the case as an accidental fire.”

Connor scrubbed his face with his hand, “Fuck. Are you going to report the claims to the hunter’s council?”

Chris nodded, “He implied she wasn’t alone in killing his pack but he was borderline feral so it’s something I will need to look into before I submit any reports.”

Jayden asked, “Why did you shoot him?”

Chris slumped against the wall as he explained, “Allison is at a sleepover across the road, she saw the broken door and came home to find out what was going on. He launched himself at her in beta shift when she came into the dining room. I had no other choice. It’s going to be a fun discussion tonight when I explain what happened.”

Connor’s eyes widened, “Oh shit, will you need help telling her?”

Jayden asked, confused, “Doesn’t she already know, being a hunters kid and all that?”

Chris shook his head, “No. I made the decision to keep her out of the hunting life until she turned eighteen. Victoria constantly fought me on it but I was determined. I wanted her to have a normal childhood, well as much of one as Victoria would allow around all of her lessons. I wanted her to have the choice about being a hunter rather than being indoctrinated from birth.”

Connor contemplated the scene and he suggested, “We could log it in the system as a home invasion, the ME is part of a neighboring pack so he’ll probably sign off on her death as something mundane. We’ll need to get a statement from Allison saying that the man tried to attack her as she came in to see what was wrong. Can you call her over?”

Chris nodded and he sent a text off to Allison as Connor called in the ME.

Jayden explained, “We’ll send off a different report to the council notifying them of the feral wolf and the death of Victoria at the hands of the wolf. Did you happen to get his name?”

Chris replied, “He said his name was Cameron Kendrick. I recognized the name but I’m not sure where the pack was based beyond the Pacific Northwest.”

Jayden shook his head but Connor said, “That’s a pack that’s north of Seattle I think. They don’t usually venture this far away from their pack.”

Allison entered the house slowly and she asked, “Dad?”

The group walked out to the foyer to meet her so she wouldn’t have to see the two bodies again. Chris pulled her into a hug and he wiped the tears from her face as he said, “This is Connor and Jayden, they are Detectives with the Falls Church PD. They need to talk to you about what you saw earlier.”

Connor interrupted and he said, “We want to take two statements. One with what you saw exactly, and one that is for mundane eyes that takes the supernatural out of the equation.”

She looked toward the dining room where she could see the man who lunged at her lying not far from the doorway, she asked, “What was he?”

Connor looked to Chris for permission and at his agreement, he explained, “He was a werewolf. It sounds like he was borderline feral due to an attack on his family.”

“Oh,” Allison held on tighter to her Dad as she said, “So Marie-Jeanne Valet was really a werewolf hunter?”

Chris turned her around and held her at arm's length as he demanded, “Where did you hear that name?”

She was shocked at her dad’s sudden change in behavior, she carefully pulled the necklace she was wearing out from under her shirt as she said, “Aunt Kate gave me this for my sixteenth birthday, she said it belonged to Marie-Jeanne Valet and she made a cryptic comment that I should look into her to find out where I come from.”

Chris snapped, “Son of a bitch.” As he pulled Allison in and hugged her tightly, he knew his sister wanted Allison brought up the ‘right’ way, but he didn’t think she would go this far to push her point.

Allison shrugged as Chris let her go, “I thought it was more of her crazy ramblings. She’s been hinting at the supernatural for years but it always sounded so beyond crazy when she said it.”

She turned to Connor and she asked, “What do you need from me?”

Connor took time to explain why they needed two different statements before he started with her full statement about what she saw when she came home the first time, he then explained what would need changing for the mundane statement and how important it was to cover up the supernatural aspects to protect those in the supernatural world.

Jayden took the ME through to the dining room, as soon as he arrived, to collect the two bodies. They took the time to get crime scene photos that would present the image they needed for the home invasion report which, honestly, took a fair bit of work to get Victoria looking more like her own knife had been used against her throat rather than claws.

Once everything was recorded and cleaned up Connor approached Chris and Allison, they’d been sitting on the stairs quietly talking about what Kate had been doing. He crouched down and he murmured quiet enough that Jayden wouldn’t overhear, “You’re going to investigate your sister?”

Chris nodded, “We’re going to move somewhere safe and figure out what the hell my family has been up to.”

Connor nodded, “You have my email, please do keep in touch. Let me know when you’re safe, ok?”

Chris nodded, “I’ll still be running Argent Arms remotely through my lawyer and I plan to pull funding from the hunting side of my family as soon as we are safely hidden away. We’ll be ok and I promise we’ll get in touch as soon as it's safe and you can come for a visit.”

After Connor had left Allison looked at her dad sorrowfully and she whispered, “They’ll come after us.”

Chris smirked and he said, “They can try. Mom had to know I would eventually be at odds with the hunting side of my family at some point and she taught me everything she knew about staying hidden in plain sight. As soon as the lawyers and Connor give us the ok we are going to leave town. I already had contingencies in place for us to run. The lawyers have documents prepared for us with name changes that have a verifiable history so we can disappear without a trace.”

Allison sat up, “Will you train me. Train me so when they do come I’ll be ready?”

Chris nodded, “As soon as we’re settled we’ll start your training.”


	2. Chapter Two

**July 2006**

Chris was helping Allison pack up her large book collection and he turned when she asked, “What’ll our new names be?”

“Fletcher,” Chris replied, “I chose the name Fletcher long before you were born and the lawyers have slowly been building up a history for us since you were born.”

Allison gave her dad a look that he loosely translated to the teenage version of ‘you have got to be kidding’. She raised an eyebrow and she snarked, “Fletcher, you seriously chose the name Fletcher to hide under.”

Chris chuckled, “Yes, the arms dealer who makes and sells archery equipment chose Fletcher as a new name. It’s a name I used often as a teen to hide my activities from my father.”

Not really expecting an answer, Allison asked, “So where will we be hiding?”

Chris shook his head, “Sorry. You’ll have to wait until we get there. I will explain everything then, I promise.” 

“Ok,” She hesitated for a few beats before she asked, “I won’t be able to tell my friends, will I?”

Chris shook his head, “Sorry sweetheart, but I wouldn’t put it past either Gerard or Kate to use them to try and find us. They are going to be pissed when the hunter’s council passes on our retirement notification, so it’s too big a risk to tell anyone where we are going. I am hoping to mitigate some of the risks by leaving all our electronics behind.”

Allison frowned, “Even my laptop?”

Chris nodded, “Yes, sorry kiddo. I know I have seen Kate using both our laptops and who knows what she’s installed on them.”

Allison said incredulously, “You know if she had installed something I would have found it. You’re sounding paranoid.”

“It’s not paranoia if they’re really out to get you,” Chris stated seriously. “Look, I worked hard to shelter you from the extent of the Argent family crazy that some members of the family seem to inherit. I hoped that keeping you away from them before you turned eighteen you would stay somewhat sane.”

Allison stopped packing and she asked, “Crazy? Are we talking Mad Hatter level crazy or Bellatrix Lestrange insanity?”

Chris contemplated the answer before he said, “Closer to Bellatrix in Azkaban than I am comfortable with, to be honest.”

Allison’s jaw dropped, “They hide it well.”

Chris agreed, “They do, they really do. I had no idea how bad it was until they threatened to kill my high school boyfriend. We were fifteen, younger than you are now. They didn’t threaten him because he was a boy, but because he was a werewolf. A mostly peaceful werewolf from a pack we had a treaty with.”

Allison asked, “Had?”

Chris explained, “His alpha tore up the treaty when Dad threatened to kill her beta when he caught us kissing.”

Allison gaped at him, “What happened to him?”

Chris shrugged, “I lost touch… Mostly because the death threat was never off the table. If they had found out we were still in contact they would have killed him and his pack.”

“Fuck,” Allison winced, “Sorry. So, when were you going to tell me you’re bisexual?”

Chris laughed, “I’m not.”

Allison was confused so she asked, “But you had a boyfriend?”

Chris explained, “Yes, I’m not bisexual. I’m gay. 100% gay. Something your mother refused to let me tell you.”

Allison asked, “So… Then why did you marry mom?”

“Hunter family politics,” Chris stated blandly, “She was from another hunting family that wanted to seal an alliance with us by way of a marriage contract. I made it clear from the start that I wouldn’t sleep with her and she would have to pay for any IVF treatment to have the child that was required as part of the contract. Her family, the Cadeyrn Hunting family agreed to my terms.”

Allison asked worriedly, “Will they come after us?”

Chris shook his head, “No. The more militant members of her family that agreed with your mom’s bigotry were killed by a pack not long after you were born. They killed an innocent beta and were killed by the pack in retaliation. The family members that escaped punishment were absorbed into one of the larger hunting families in Europe and are working hard to clear the stigma from their name. They won’t be happy that Victoria broke the code.”

Allison sealed the box she had filled and moved it to the door as she asked, “Will you be investigating everything the guy claimed?”

Chris nodded, “I’ll explain more once we’re settled.”

“Okay.” Allison settled into the packing once more as she contemplated what she had learned. It was a lot to process even though not much was said.

Their new documents arrived by special courier the next day, they included their new passports and driver's licenses and the details of Allison’s school transcript. It was fairly close to what she had been studying at her high school in Falls Church, but seemed to include a variety of schools from around the states. Allison spent the trip to their new home memorizing the transcripts and reading the research provided on the towns their new identities had lived in.

Their things were dropped off at a storage facility run by a friend of Chris’ who specialized in moving victims of domestic violence so their abusers couldn’t follow them.

They waited until after the small funeral before they left town. Chris made sure that his family wasn’t notified of her death and the funeral details were only spread through her friends by word of mouth. 

Chris used the trip to Beacon Hills as a long-overdue vacation, first, they flew to Flagstaff, AZ where he had arranged for their new SUV to be waiting for them. It was kitted out with most of their favorite weapons hidden away in secret compartments. From there they made their way to the Grand Canyon and spent a couple of days hiking and being normal average tourists. Allison had a great time with her dad as she learned more about the history of their family on the hikes.

She noticed he seemed to have a sixth sense of when they would be interrupted and would suddenly change the subject but he just shook his head when she seemed about to ask about it.

From Arizona, they made their way west with a quick stop in Los Angeles for a few days at the various theme parks and tourist spots around the city. Chris wasn’t sure who had more fun but they had a great few days just acting like kids at the various parks.

As they drove north from LA Allison noticed her dad getting more nervous and pensive so she asked, “So, are you finally going to tell me where we'll be living?”

Chris glanced across at her as he drove north toward Sacramento, “We are going to the town I grew up in, Beacon Hills it’s in Northern California. Hopefully, it’s the last place they will think to look for us.” 

Allison gave him a calculating look and she asked, “Why Beacon Hills?”

Chris answered her calculating question with another question, “What do you think you have figured out?”

“You got bitten,” Allison stated, “That wolf that attacked mom was the last one left in his pack so he must have been an alpha. I think during the attack he bit you.”

Chris nodded, “He did. I don’t blame him though. Not if what he said was true.”

Allison, “He said mom was behind the death of his pack?”

Chris shook his head, “No, she helped behind the scenes using our investment portfolios by bribing the local officials to ignore the attack and write it off as an accident. He said Kate seduced his fourteen-year-old brother to get information about the house then she trapped the pack inside and set fire to the house.”

Allison’s jaw dropped, “That’s… that… she’s a pedophile. What the fuck, Dad.”

“Language,” Chris chided, “I have the details of our investment accounts and I will be going back through the years Kate has been active to see if there are signs of other bribes.”

Allison narrowed her eyes at her dad and she asked, “You think she’s done that more than once?”

Chris shrugged, “It’s just a hunch at this point. I am hoping the Hale Pack can help me investigate. Talia is a powerful alpha and she has alliances with packs all over the US.”

Allison asked, “How are you handling your wolf? Is that the right wording?”

Chris smiled, “Yeah it is, have you been studying the bestiary?”

Allison grinned, “Stop deflecting. You were bitten just over two weeks ago and the full moon is in a week.”

Chris sighed, “I am doing ok. Peter would often bitch about his lessons in control as we wandered through the preserve so I am putting a lot of what he said into practice. I am not sure how the full moon is going to go though. I'm hoping Alpha Hale will be willing to help me.”

A few hours later they pulled up to their new house on the edge of the Beacon Hills Preserve. They had stopped into the local real estate office to pick up the keys on their way through the town center. 

Allison was excited to see the pool in the backyard. Her mom had always said that a pool was a frivolous activity and she didn't have time to waste on playing in a pool when she had all of her lessons to attend. She was glad she could finally drop the almost obsessive gymnastics and ballet lessons her mother had insisted on but she would be looking for a new martial arts studio and an archery tutor once they were a bit more settled. She was sure her dad could take over her firearms training.

They ordered pizza for the first dinner in their new house and Allison asked, “When are you going to reach out to the Alpha?”

Chris explained, “Protocol dictates that I should present myself to her within 24 hours. So I thought I would go visit first thing tomorrow morning. I would rather leave you here until I am sure she won’t object to us staying in town.”

Allison nodded, “I will unpack my things while you’re gone and do some searching online for a car. For now, I want an early night, the last week has been exhausting.”

Early the next afternoon Chris drove out to the Hale house in the middle of the Beacon Hills Preserve and he nearly fainted at the sight of the burnt-out ruins of the house. He could still smell traces of wolfsbane and accelerant in the air and knew in his heart that his sister and late wife were involved in the fire.

He drove into town in a daze and he racked his brain as to how he could find out what happened to the Hales. Chris decided to see what he could find out from the sheriff’s office. When he walked in he was surprised to find an old school friend standing at the front desk talking to one of the deputies.

“Noah?” When Noah looked up and smiled he sighed in relief at seeing a familiar face, “Thank god, I need some help.”

Noah grinned at the sight of his old friend and he invited, “Let’s go to my office and talk,” He looked at Tara who was on desk duty and he said, “If you see my miscreant keep him away from my office.”

She nodded and waved him away.

Noah gestured Chris into one of the chairs as he sat behind his desk and he said, “Long time no see.”

Chris grimaced, “I know, it’s a long story. I am not far from our old place on Taylors Lane.” He wondered if Noah had been brought in on the secret of the supernatural yet. The sheriff usually was but it would depend on when the fire happened and he wasn't confident enough with his control of his wolf to be the one to out the secret. “I wondered if you could help me. I am trying to find Peter or even Talia Hale. I went out to the house but…”

Noah rubbed the back of his neck, “I’m only telling you this because I know you were close to Peter. Talia is dead, most of her family was killed in the Hale house fire last year. Peter is in the long-term care ward at Beacon Hills Memorial with severe burns to 70% of his body. He’s been in a coma since the fire.”

Chris slumped in his chair, “Fuck!” he gave Noah a speculative look and he asked, “Did you ever meet Talia?”

Noah shook his head, “No, not long after your family left town the Hales became quite insular. Talia even sent her kids to Devonford Prep rather than the local high school. Talia never really socialized with the locals and most of their work with City Hall was done through their lawyer.”

Chris listened closely but couldn’t hear a lie in the statement. He stood as he decided he needed some air, “Right, I have taken up enough of your time. Before I go, can I ask, what was the cause of the fire?”

Noah gave him a sharp look and he said, “It was reported in the paper as an electrical malfunction. I can’t give you more than that, Chris.”

Chris nodded. “Thanks, Noah. I guess I will see you around.”

Noah escorted him back to the front desk and with a squeeze of his shoulder, he said, “It was good to see you Chris, sorry I couldn’t help you more. Let me know when you’re free and we can meet for a beer in town one night.”

Chris left with the station and he was unsure of what he should do next. The full moon was not far away and without a pack in town he had to figure out how to manage his shift on his own.

He decided since it was still early in the afternoon that he would visit with Peter at the hospital before the end of visiting hours. It was a short drive from the sheriff’s office to the hospital that, like a lot of the town, was located on the edge of the preserve.

A visit to the front desk pointed him in the direction of the Long Term Care Ward where they confirmed that Peter Hale was a patient. He asked if he had many visitors and after a quick check through the records, they confirmed there had been no visitors for him since he was moved to the long-term ward from the ICU in February last year.

As he made his way to the ward Chris made a conscious effort to keep the sorrow off his face as he processed what the receptionist said. He knew Peter’s wolf would be suffering from the lack of pack, coma, or no coma.

He had a hunch to keep his visit hidden from the nursing staff so he used his hearing that he finally had control over to stay out of the way of anyone who might try to stop him.

Chris entered the room and shut the door quietly behind him. He left the door unlocked but kept his hearing focused on the nursing staff so he would hear if someone was coming to do rounds. He nearly cried when he saw the once proud man sitting in the wheelchair looking out over the preserve with vacant eyes. 

He crouched down in front of Peter and he could see the burns that scarred one side of the wolf’s face disappearing into the hospital gown. 

He muttered, “They promised me if I stayed away they would leave you all alone. Damnit, you were supposed to be safe.”

Chris looked up just as Peter’s eyes focused on him briefly before becoming vacant once more. He could scent the surprise from the wolf though. He could smell something familiar and unpleasant in the room, it was on the edge of his senses like it was hidden under the general hospital smell, which was pungent and foul to the wolf sense of smell. 

He wanted to get closer to see if he could smell if it was coming from Peter or somewhere else in the room so he leaned forward and whispered, “Don’t freak out, I just want to get a better idea of what’s hiding under the hospital stink.”

Chris saw the slow deliberate blink and he interpreted it as acceptance as he leaned forward and scent marked Peter’s neck. He gasped when he finally recognized the underlying smell as a rare form of wolfsbane used to keep a wolf pliant and controlled.

He breathed “Someone here is dosing you with wolfsbane. Fuck.”

Chris leaned back on his haunches and he looked at Peter who was making an effort to look him in the eye. Chris got the feeling it was exhausting him so he just asked, “Have they been dosing you since the fire?”

Peter blinked once and Chris reached out and grasped his hand that was free of burn scars. He leaned in and whispered, “I am going to get you out of here, just give me a few days.”

Chris could hear the nurses starting their rounds so he stood to make his exit. As he walked down the corridor he thought he recognized the nurse doing the rounds from one of Victoria’s files and he made a mental note to take a look when he got home. 


	3. Chapter Three

**August 2006**

Allison was unpacking the kitchen when he got home so he sat her down and explained what he had found.

She asked, “Do you think it was Kate?”

Chris nodded sadly, “Of that, I have no doubt. I am worried about Peter though, he’s been in the hospital since the fire and he’s being dosed with wolfsbane. The smell was one that is used by code-breaking hunters to keep a captive wolf pliant and manipulatable.”

Allison swore, “So, are we going to rescue him then?”

Chris smiled, “Yeah, we'll need to go in the next few days. First, though I need to go through your mother's files. I could have sworn I recognized one of the nurses at the hospital and I am sure she was in Victoria’s records as part of Kate’s crew.”

Allison stood from the box she was unpacking and she said, “Let’s go to your office, that’s where I moved all her files. You can check for the nurse and I can try and get into the hospital computer systems to see if I can find her in the personnel files.”

As they walked upstairs Chris asked, “Your laptops arrived ok?”

Allison nodded, “Yep, I already have my school one set up how I want it and my other one is waiting in your office. It already has all my favorite programs installed. Your lawyers are awesome.”

Allison set herself up in the corner with the secure hotspot while Chris got to work going through the various dossiers of the hunters who worked with Kate and Gerard. He held up a file after nearly an hour of searching, “Found it! How’s your searching going?”

Allison grinned, “I'm nearly into the personnel files. Patient files were easier to access, which is a bit scary. I have Peter’s records saved and I found a disturbing trend of deaths in the long-term ward that are passed off as natural causes that have tests showing high concentrations of a drug called digitalis in their system before their deaths. I have saved those records too. Oh and I changed the record of your visit so it was to a different patient.”

Chris handed over the dossier on Jenny Coleman. She was from a minor hunting family that worked mostly in New England but worked with Kate a lot over the last decade. Victoria had noted several payments sent through to the woman for hunting parties and replacement weapons and equipment.

Allison gasped, “I found her, she’s working under the name Jennifer Damas and she’s been at the hospital since just after the fire. Her personnel file shows she has a nursing degree specializing in palliative care. Can you run a background check on Jenny Coleman to see if she actually has the degree her false identity claims to have, and also maybe run one on Jennifer Damas and see if you can poke holes in the background check the hospital has run?”

Chris booted up his new laptop and logged into the Argent Arms systems where he had access to run background checks. He was grateful that he had his system modified by the hunter’s council so he could run checks on hunter families without notifications going out to local law enforcement agencies or anyone watching for background checks on certain people. 

He ran both of the extensive background checks and printed them both so they could stick them to the wall and compare them side by side.

Allison asked incredulously, “Do the hospitals even do background checks?”

Chris shrugged, “This makes me think they didn’t check hers at all. She attended nursing school but failed out in her second year. The new history barely has any background at all.”

Allison scoffed, “Even to a newbie like me the background check of the nurse would set off red flags.”

She sat down in her dad's chair and she asked, “So when are we going to get him and where are we going to hide him?”

Rather than telling her Chris stood and beckoned for her to follow. He led her through the kitchen and down to the basement. He looked around and found the hidden lever that was in the note from the estate agent. He pulled the lever and he said, “This is a sealed containment room that is not on any of the city blueprints. I would use it for the full moon but it can be opened from the inside. It’s been warded so only those who know of the room's existence can see the lever.”

She explored the large hidden basement space that seemed to extend under the pool in the backyard if she had her bearings correct, it had a few beds and a kitchenette, and even a small ensuite bathroom. It was set up like a self-contained panic room. She asked, “Will he be ok in here? How long will it take to purge the wolfsbane from his system?”

Chris said, “I think it will take them a few days for the hospital to report him missing. Sheriff Stilinski will likely come here to search for Peter thanks to my visit this afternoon and his knowledge of our past history but that should still give us a day head start to get him on the mend. As for the wolfsbane, it might take a few days, a week at the most, we just need his healing to kick in.”

Allison asked, “Can we get something to help him purge the wolfsbane from his system faster? Something we can put in his IV?”

Chris nodded and he pointed to a cabinet by the door, “I moved most of Victoria’s hunting supplies in there last night after you went to bed. She had a good supply of various types of wolfsbane, mistletoe, even some kanima venom that Victoria somehow got her hands on. There will be something in there we can use to purge the wolfsbane once we figure out what type of wolfsbane they are dosing him with. Given she works with Kate she will be using a strain known to the Argent line.”

Allison started digging through the cabinet and she found a set of radios with throat mics hidden in with other random electronic equipment. She stood with them and she asked, “No weapons?”

Chris shook his head, “No, they are stored in the locked cabinets in the garage as part of the business. We can use the radios to stay in touch when I go to break Peter out. Did you by any chance find the camera system while you were digging around the hospital system?”

Allison snorted indelicately, “Yeah, it’s laughable. They have 4 cameras, 2 outside the main entrance and 2 in the ER. I am sure you can find another way in and out of the hospital. I can wait in the SUV for you both and keep an eye out for any trouble.”

She looked down at the radios in her hand and she asked, “How’s your wolf?”

Chris narrowed his eyes and he said, “Fine, why do you ask?”

Allison sat on one of the beds and she explained, “I have been reading the bestiary and it says that wolves need a pack that without one the wolf can go feral. Do we need to find you an alpha?”

Chris sat opposite her and he flashed his red eyes at her, “I am already an alpha which is helping. I have that urge to build a pack but, honestly, I have you and that’s helping.”

She flashed her dimples and she said bravely, “You know, I wouldn’t be opposed to the bite. Everything I have read from Mom's files shows that it would help you and I would gain a lot from it too. Added strength, agility, and the added senses would be awesome.” She took a hesitant breath before she added, “I know there is a risk of dying of bite rejection and I am willing to risk it. But what I know most of all, I don't want to be a hunter, I would rather be a wolf than what my grandfather and aunt have become.”

Chris let out the breath he was holding and he pulled her into a hug. He murmured, “Let’s get past this full moon and we can discuss it. It will be easier if just one of us is going through the full moon as a complete newbie.”

Allison perked up and she ran to the cabinet and pulled out a large jar of black ash and brandished it toward her dad. “We have mountain ash. I can use this to contain you and Peter during the full moon.”

Chris smiled, “Perfect, you can practice over the next few days to make sure you can control it. Right, let's get the radios up to my office so we can set them up. I want to check Peter’s notes to see how often he is checked overnight.”

They found the notes and he was only checked at the beginning of each shift so they decided they would go in after the shift change at 10 pm and Chris would wait in the stairwell for his nurse to go through. Allison would take her laptop and hotspot and monitor the few cameras the hospital had from the SUV. 

Allison found a spot in the parking lot that was out of sight of the main entrance and the cameras but accessible with a short walk from the side of the hospital. Chris ran to the windows under the long-term care ward and using his claws he climbed to an open window on the second floor that had no one awake in the room judging by the heartbeats he could hear. He climbed the stairs to the next floor where the long-term care ward was and he waited in the stairwell for the nurses to gather for their shift meeting after the initial rounds were completed.

He was able to use his hearing to navigate through the dark ward to Peter’s room where he found Peter still awake in the bed hooked up to an IV of saline. He took a sniff of the bag but couldn’t smell any wolfsbane and he could see Peter following his movements. He carefully gathered Peter up in his arms bridal style with the saline bag secure in his lap before he whispered, “Let’s blow this popsicle stand.”

He could smell the happiness radiating from Peter as they quietly left the hospital room he had been trapped in since not long after the fire. Awake and aware but not able to do anything. He used his senses to avoid running into anyone as he walked calmly down the stairwell, as they reached the staff exit he warned Allison they were on the way and she confirmed everything was clear from her end and she had the SUV running with the back door open.

He whispered to Peter, “That was my daughter, Allison, she’s acting as our getaway driver for the night.”

Chris made his way to the SUV and he eased Peter into the backseat of the SUV before climbing up beside him. The SUV was a typical model owned by hunters that had blackout rear windows to avoid passengers showing up on traffic cameras.

Allison got them out of the hospital parking lot, carefully skirting the visual range of the cameras, and with a quick drive through town she had them squirreled away in their garage. She helped her dad ease Peter out of the SUV before running ahead to open the doors to the secret room as Chris carried Peter through the house.

Chris settled Peter on the bed and he set up the IV on a strangely convenient hook above the bed, he took another good sniff of the bag, and when he was sure it was just saline so he let it continue. 

Allison stood by the door and she asked, “Is there anything I can do?”

Chris shook his head, “How about you figure out our alibi, so we can get our stories straight when Noah turns up at the door.”

Allison bounced off with a quick, “Sure, Dad.”

Chris looked down at Peter and saw him watching cautiously. He was certainly more aware than he had been earlier in the day. Chris explained, “You’re not a prisoner in here. I promise, this is just to keep you hidden until the hospital stops searching for you while you recover. It can be opened from the inside like a normal door but only those who know about the room can see the lever to open it in the basement.”

Allison came back into the room with her laptop and a pile of printouts and she said, “I am going to set up in the corner so if they do come and search the house they don’t find our research.”

Chris glanced down at Peter and noted how much more lucid he seemed to be compared to the morning and he said, “Allison, why don't you see if you can find out what staff worked on Peter and run background checks on them all. She has to have an accomplice helping her keep Peter dosed daily.”

Allison asked, “Are you going to stay down here tonight?”

Chris nodded, “Yeah, I want to make sure there aren’t any issues with Peter coming off the wolfsbane. Can you put a line of mountain ash at the door when you go to bed? I can text you if we need to be let out.”

An hour later Allison had a list of names written down in a notebook and she stood and with a quick kiss to her dad's cheek, she left a line of ash on the inside of the door and left them alone for the night.

Chris made sure Peter was comfortable before he settled down in the next bed over and went to sleep.

-x-

Noah was eating an illicit burger in his office late in the afternoon when his son Stiles burst into the room unannounced with a few of his friends behind him and the deputy who was manning the front desk behind them giving him an apologetic look.

Stiles gave the burger a filthy look which Noah ignored when he demanded, “What, Stiles?”

Lydia moved Stiles out of the way and she said, “We are here to report a patient missing from the hospital.”

Noah put down the burger in his hand and he had a feeling he knew exactly which patient would be missing, what he didn't know was why Stiles would be involved. He asked, “Who?”

Stiles rubbed the back of his neck and he said, “Peter Hale, we were checking on him for a friend and his room was empty.”

Jackson added, “His chart was still in the room and when I had a quick look there was no mention of any tests being ordered.”

Isaac continued, “I asked the nurses on duty but they said he should be in his room in the chair by the window.”

Noah called out, “Graeme!”

Tara came to the door and she said, “Yes boss?”

Noah ordered, “Take the newbie, Deputy Parrish, to the hospital and track down Peter Hale. He should be in the long-term care ward but he is apparently missing. While you’re there find out why the hospital isn’t the one reporting it if he is indeed missing.”

Noah looked at Stiles and he asked, “If I ask you why you were visiting Peter Hale would you tell me?”

Stiles shook his head, “Sorry Daddio, I promised I would keep it a secret, the only reason we are here is he is missing and we are worried as he is definitely not awake enough to leave on his own.”

Noah looked at the five teens in the doorway, he took note of Danny staying quiet and fiddling around on his phone and he asked, “Are any of you going to show up on his visitor records?”

They all shook their heads, Lydia said, “We were careful, Sir.”

Noah nodded, “Ok, I will look into it. I’m sure he’s fine and it’s just a misunderstanding.”

They all nodded and filed out of Noah’s office. Stiles looked back and he said, “Please find him. I can’t say why, but it’s important.”

Noah nodded and he said, “We'll be talking when you get home about you visiting strays at the hospital.”

Stiles nodded mutely and followed his friends out of the office.


	4. Chapter Four

**August 2006**

Noah stood from his desk and as he passed the front desk he said, “I am going to go for a drive to clear my head, please don’t contact me unless there’s an emergency.

Deputy Wickens nodded in agreement and he asked, “Do you want me to text if Stiles and his friends return?”

Noah looked at where the friends were driving away in the two cars, Stiles’ Jeep, Roscoe, and Jackson’s Porsche. He turned to Bryan and he asked, “Was it just the five of them?”

He nodded, “I didn’t see anyone else with them, but that’s not unusual, it’s usually that group of kids that we see Stiles with around town.” 

Noah nodded in agreement, he tapped the desk as he left and he commented, “I shouldn’t be more than a few hours. Contact Tara if you need help.”

Bryan saluted as Noah left the station. Noah contemplated his options and he decided to take the unmarked cruiser to see Chris. He didn’t want to fan the gossip flames by parking outside the house of someone new to the area for several hours. He had no doubts breaking Chris would take at least a few hours.

Meanwhile, in the basement, Peter had gotten progressively better since he woke up as the wolfsbane left his system. Chris had spent the day wiping the sweat from Peter as his body tried to expel the wolfsbane.

Late in the afternoon, Peter got tired of waiting for Chris to explain more than what he was doing to help Peter expel the wolfsbane so he demanded, “Why?”

Chris chuckled and he said, “That’s a pretty loaded question, Peter. Why did I leave, why am I here, why did I rescue you?”

Peter huffed and he slowly asked, “Why are you… here?”

Chris explained, “We needed somewhere safe to hide from our family after an attack by a rogue alpha. I have always thought Beacon Hills would be safe and somewhere Gerard and Kate won’t think to search in their hunt for us.”

Peter narrowed his eyes, “Why hide? What happened?”

Chris flashed his bright red alpha eyes and he was hopeful it would be enough to show why he was hiding from his family. He heard a car pull up the driveway and he swore, “Shit, someone’s here. Do you want me to send Allison down to keep you company?”

Peter nodded as he didn’t want to be locked in on his own. Chris sent off a quick text to Allison and she came jogging in a few seconds later. Before Chris left the room he turned back and said, “Don’t interrogate her too hard Peter, she's still new to the supernatural world.”

He shut and sealed the secret room making sure everything looked normal in the basement before he went upstairs to answer the door.

“Noah,” Chris greeted as he opened the door to find just the sheriff waiting on the other side, “Come in.”

Noah followed Chris through to the kitchen as offered, “Coffee? I was about to have one myself.”

Noah looked around curiously at the boxes still piled up around the kitchen and he said, “Sure, why not.”

Chris made the coffee how he remembered Noah taking it and set it down on the breakfast bar. “So, what brings you here, Noah?”

Noah raised an eyebrow and he said, “You have no idea why I am here?”

Chris shook his head, “Nope. Visiting to see if you could find me in my new place?”

Noah sighed, “So it’s a coincidence that within a day of you visiting me to ask about the Hale’s, Peter Hale goes missing from the hospital?”

Chris nodded, “I visited yesterday and it was sad to see him like that for sure. But had nothing to do with him leaving the hospital.”

Noah asked, “Mind if I take a look around?”

Chris shrugged, “I should ask for a search warrant but I know I had nothing to do with it so why not. Have at it.”

Noah picked up his coffee mug, it was good coffee, and he started up the stairs to start his search.

In the basement, Peter was watching Allison as she was engrossed in her work on the laptop from the floor beside his bed. He asked, “What are you doing?”

She glanced up before diving back into financial records. She shrugged and explained, “I am looking into the financials of the staff at the hospital who treated you to see who was being bribed or paid outside of their job.”

Peter tried to move so he could see the screen of her laptop as he asked, “Any luck?”

She shrugged, “I found a few with weird payments but nothing like what your main nurse has received from Kate. I am only halfway through the list though. There was one that left about eight months after the fire after she got nearly 80k from Kate. 10k a month, her background check shows she moved to San Diego.”

Peter scowled, “McCall. She got cold feet when she saw how lucid I was before the daily wolfsbane dose.”

She snapped her fingers and pointed at him, “That’s the one. Jennifer doesn't appear to have found someone consistent for her days off since then.”

Peter looked up at the doorway and Allison whispered, “Are they just outside?”

Peter nodded and he murmured, “He knows.”

Allison nodded, “Yep, but he can't prove it so we should be ok.”

Frustrated Peter shook his head, he was still struggling to make himself clear as his body tried to heal, “No, He knows about this room. About me. He knows.” 

“Fuck.” Allison cursed. She started gathering up the paperwork around her so she could put it in one of the empty boxes in the corner. She didn’t want the evidence of their illegal searches to be in plain view if the sheriff entered the room.

When she stopped moving frantically Peter asked, “You done?”

Allison nodded and Peter said, “Chris, let him in.”

Chris moved out of the way of the lever he had trying to hide and Noah reached out and pulled it. He explained, “I knew the original owners and I helped them design the panic room.”

They entered the secret room and Noah breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Peter was awake on the bed. He asked, “You ok, Peter?”

Peter nodded, “Better than the last few years. One of the nurses has been poisoning me with daily doses of wolfsbane to keep me pliant and looking like I am in a coma.”

Noah looked horrified, “You have been awake this whole time?”

Peter shrugged, “Sort of. The wolfsbane left me pretty out of it during the day.”

Noah sat on the other bed and he asked, “Will you be recovered enough for the full moon?”

Peter shrugged, “I don’t know. I haven’t had an alpha since the fire and the wolfsbane was the only thing keeping me from going feral during the full moons.” He glanced at Chris before looking down at his hands where he was flicking his claws in and out.

Chris snapped, “You have an alpha, if you want me as yours.”

Noah frowned at Chris, “You took the bite?”

Chris laughed darkly as he said, “Not willingly, although I did willingly take the alpha spark when it was offered.”

Allison explained, “Dad was attacked by an alpha that was looking for revenge for something mom did. She helped my Aunt burn his pack to the ground and I think he was the last of his pack left alive. I don’t think he meant to bite dad and he was only fixated on mom from the little bit I heard. She bribed the local police to ignore the reports of statutory rape on my aunt who seduced his 14-year-old little brother. She also bribed the dispatcher to ignore calls for a fire at the pack house the night of the fire.”

Noah saw the dark look on Peter’s face and he asked, “She was behind your pack being attacked?”

Peter nodded, “I am not sure how details about the pack house and how to trap us all inside but if statutory rape is on the table it would explain a lot about Derek’s behavior before the fire.”

Chris glared at Noah and he said, “You said you didn’t know Talia.”

Noah smirked, “No. I said I had never met Talia. Which I hadn’t. Peter was my contact with the pack. He told me about the supernatural world and even the Argent’s place in it not long after you left town.”

Chris grumbled as Allison laughed at her dad. It was rare for someone to successfully do an end-run around her dad.

Peter asked, “What are we going to do about me?”

Noah shrugged, “I will need to investigate, especially since it wasn’t the hospital who reported you missing. It was my own damn son.”

Peter asked, “Mischief? Why would he report me missing?”

Noah said, “Hell if I know, he and his four cohorts turned up to report you missing. They said they were reporting you missing on behalf of a friend but none of them would say who the friend was.”

Peter snorted, “Knowing your son it could be anyone, he’s friends with half the town, most of them to stop you eating junk food if I remember correctly.”

Chris and Allison giggled as Noah griped, “I had one slightly high cholesterol test and he went into a tailspin and cleaned up our diets.”

Peter sympathized, “It’s to be expected after you lost Claudia when he was only 10. He is terrified of losing you.” He glanced at Allison and he suggested, “I think you need to run background checks on the staff starting with the nurse who was treating me, Jenny. She was dosing me daily with a rare strain of wolfsbane and I have smelled digitalis on her so she could be dosing others.”

Noah took note of the name in his notebook before he asked, “What’s your plan for the full moon? Stay in here?”

Chris nodded, “Allison is going to ring us in mountain ash so we can't escape. It will be my first full moon as a wolf.”

Noah asked, “And after the full moon? Will you be investigating the fire?”

Peter said, “My first priority is to find the kids. I got Cora out of the house before the mountain ash line was closed and Derek and Laura weren’t home.”

Noah admitted, “Laura took Derek and left town a few days after the fire. I have flags on their name in the system, especially Derek since he’s still a minor but we haven’t been able to find them.” Noah looked nervous and he said, “Cora was listed as one of the dead in the fire. I’m sorry Peter.”

Peter shook his head as he rubbed his sternum, “I still have a pack bond with her. She’s the only one I still have.”

Noah swore in sudden realization, “That bloody little shit. Do you mind if I invite Stiles here, his friends will likely follow, it's hard to separate them these days.”

Chris glanced at Allison who nodded her agreement, she suggested, “Let’s take this up to the living room where there will be enough furniture for everyone.”

Noah followed everyone upstairs as Chris carried Peter up to the living room. He called Stiles as he walked, “Stiles, I am texting you an address. You will bring all of your friends with you and I want you here in the next 20 minutes.”

Stiles hedged on the other end and Noah cut him off, “No Stiles. I mean ALL of your friends. Including Cora.”

He hung up and sent the address via text with an order that they should start driving.

Fifteen minutes later Chris answered the door and let in six teens, one of whom definitely had the Hale eyebrows. 

Stiles saw the grim expression on the man's face and he said quietly, “Dad asked us to meet him here?”

Cora however had taken one sniff and led the group through to the living room where she cried, “Uncle Peter!”

Noah held up his hand before she could rush over and Chris explained from behind her, “Just be gentle, he’s still recovering from eighteen months of wolfsbane poisoning.”

She turned to him and said, “I never smelled any on him.”

Peter beckoned her over and she cuddled into his side as he said, “It was a rare form that is used mostly by hunters who don’t follow the code. You wouldn’t have been trained to recognize the scent.”

Noah left them talking on the couch and he murmured to Jackson, “Is your dad home or likely to still be at the office?”

Jackson shrugged, “Probably still at the office, he’s avoiding mom again.”

Noah smirked, “He got caught cheating on his diet again?”

Jackson nodded and with a smirk, he said, “Yeah, she found a Krispy Kreme wrapper in his pocket when she was doing the laundry.”

Noah called out, “Chris, Peter, let me know if you think of anything else. I am going to get a search warrant for the hospital in the search for Peter.”

Chris warned, “You will need to be quick, the hunter will cover her tracks quickly, if you can get one to search overnight when she is off shift you should be able to find what you need to arrest her in the morning.”

Allison reminded, “And you will need to do it all under her false name. It’s not one of the ones listed in mom’s dossier on her so it shouldn’t raise any red flags in the system for my Aunt Kate.”

Noah nodded, “I will keep you all updated. Stiles, stay out of trouble.”

After Noah left Chris introduced himself and Allison to the teens, explaining that they were Argent’s but they were in hiding from the rest of his family under the new name of Fletcher. Cora then introduced her friends as they took seats around the room. She explained, “These guys helped me visit Uncle Peter a few times a week after school. They would help me sneak in and keep a lookout while I got pack cuddles.”

Peter asked, “Are you still at Devonford Prep?”

Cora shook her head, “No, Danny helped me transfer to BHHS under the name Cora Lowell after the fire when Stiles realized I had been declared dead by the Sheriff’s department.”

Danny said quietly, “My parents took her in after the fire when we told them what caused the Hale fire. I was able to transfer her trust fund to her new name without Laura noticing it was missing to cover her school expenses.”

Cora muttered darkly, “Not that Laura would, she snapped all the remaining pack bonds and ran with Derek. She had to know I had escaped the fire but she cut them anyway.”

Peter snarled, “She’s next on my list. The first thing Talia taught her was you never abandon pack.”

Chris looked around the room and realized none of the teens were surprised at the talk of pack and he asked, “You all know of the supernatural?”

Stiles pointed around the room first at himself, “I’m a spark, Lydia is a banshee although her powers are still awakening, Cora let the others know of her secret after the fire when she was struggling to gain control of her wolf. She had a few accidental eye flashes.”

Isaac said quietly, “We had already known her for a few years by then since she was good friends with Stiles through Lacrosse. She would sneak across town to hang out with Stiles and slowly the rest of us as we were absorbed into their mini pack before the fire.”

Chris crouched in front of the two Hales and he asked, “Have you had no alpha since the fire?”

Cora shook her head and she explained, “Alpha Ito offered but she couldn’t take on Uncle Peter because of his coma and I didn't want to give up my last remaining family pack bond. So my friends and Uncle Peter became my pack.”

Chris asked, “What about the full moons?”

Cora pointed at Stiles and she said, “He’s a spark.”

Chris glanced at Allison who he knew had been engrossed in the bestiary more than he ever was as he said, “I don’t actually know what that means.”

Allison shrugged, “The bestiary only had a few lines to say a spark is a powerful magic user but they did not make good emissaries as they were often ruthless and not overly diplomatic.”

Stiles snorted, “Rude, but not entirely untrue in my case.”

Lydia explained, “Stiles would rather burn the threat than negotiate with it. Sparks however can manipulate mountain ash beyond what a human can do. He can even use it to contain humans.”

Peter asked, “I read once that a spark's only limit is their imagination.”

Stiles nodded, “That sounds about right. I am entirely self-taught from the journals mom left for me in the attic, but so far, most of what I have tried has worked ok.” He looked sheepish, “And these guys work well as handbrakes to stop some of my more harebrained ideas.”

Allison asked, “So you could keep all three of the wolves contained this full moon?”

The visiting teens all chorused, “Three?”

Cora looked at Chris and she asked, “I thought Argent’s were hunters, not wolves?”

Chris flashed his red eyes and he said, “I was bitten by a feral wolf who attacked my late wife. He passed on his alpha spark before he died. But this will be my first full moon as a wolf and I am not sure what to expect.”

Cora’s eyes widened, “I can barely smell the wolf on you. I thought it was just scent marking from Uncle Peter.”

Peter grinned, “He’s taken to being a wolf rather well on the instinctual level. But I never had any doubts that Christopher would be a magnificent wolf.”

Cora looked at Chris with a calculating look in her eye. “You’re the one. You’re why we all went to Devonford Prep instead of BHHS. Why mom stopped socializing in town.”

Chris nodded, “Not that I was aware of that. I was taken away from Beacon Hills when Gerard caught me and Peter hanging out in the preserve. He kept me out of their more nefarious side of things knowing I would object to many of their activities.”

Allison scowled, “We both do. My Grandfather and Aunt are the worst type of hunters. We plan to expose them to the hunter's council once we find enough evidence of the packs they have attacked without cause.”

The teens asked as one, “Need help?”


	5. Chapter Five

**August 2006**

Allison and Chris spent a good hour explaining what they had found so far in the Argent financials and how Allison was slowly following the bribes to find other packs that had been attacked.

Stiles, Cora, and Peter offered to help there, Stiles, thanks to a few research binges, had the police department jurisdictions memorized and between Cora and Peter, they knew of most of the packs on the western side of the United States and a fair few of the packs on the Eastern side.

Danny offered to help track down Laura and Derek and Isaac silently offered his help to Danny. They were often joined at the hip anyway. 

Lydia asked how Jackson and herself could help and Chris said, “I need help going through all of my late wife’s files. She kept records of everything but the trick will be digging out anything the hunter’s council can actually use to prosecute my family.”

They all gathered up the research materials and settled into the living room with snacks to find what they needed for their various projects.

They all let their parents know they were staying overnight with friends and when they were tired they found beds in the spare rooms upstairs for sleep when they needed it.

Noah turned up early the next morning and gave them all an update. “Peter I was able to keep your disappearance out of the news bulletin. Your nurse was found with digitalis in her locker as you said. It turns out several patients in the long-term care ward had high concentrations of digitalis in their system when they died over the last eighteen months but no one put two and two together and thought they were being poisoned. She’s currently been charged with four counts of murder but they are looking at the other patients who died to see if they can be tested for digitalis.”

Peter asked, “How many, Noah?”

Noah sighed heavily as Stiles silently handed over a much-needed coffee, “Seven more patients. It’s likely some died of natural causes, or their illness caused it, but they still need to be tested where they can. I have left that in Tara’s hands, she’s good and relentless.”

Chris suggested, “Why don’t you find a bed upstairs and get some sleep. Stiles can let the station know that you are taking a break.”

Noah nodded and he led him up to one of the spare rooms upstairs.

Once they were out of earshot Peter asked, “Cora can I use your phone? I need to let Ralph know what’s going on.”

Jackson paled, “Ralph Vilkas?”

Peter smirked, “Yes, he’s my personal lawyer and the partner in my law firm. Why?”

Jackson explained, “After the fire, he’s been more vicious than usual. He’s why dad is cheating on his diet so much.”

Peter said, “It’s likely that he objected to the fire being labeled an accident and has been holding it against everyone who he considers responsible. Logically he will know that without a witness to say the fire was deliberately lit the case can’t be reopened but still…”

Cora handed over her phone with Ralph’s contact already pulled up and ready for him to hit call. Peter slowly made his way out of the room to get a semblance of privacy. While he was still gaining his mobility it was slow going and would be a few more days before he was back to fighting fit.

He hit the call button and Ralph answered, “Cora?”

Peter smirked and he said, “Wrong Hale.”

There was silence at the other end of the phone for nearly a minute before Ralph exploded, “What the fuck, Peter.”

Peter laughed, “Don’t blame me, I was kidnapped.”

Chris yelled from the living room, “It was a rescue, you bastard!”

Ralph chuckled, “Where are you? I can come to you, I have no clients this morning and I want to see you’re ok with my own two eyes.”

Peter gave him the address and Ralph said he would be there soon.

Peter sat back in the kitchen as Stiles and Isaac were dishing up breakfast for everyone and he said, “Ralph should be here soon.”

Cora said, “He knew I was alive thanks to Alpha Ito, but I asked him not to say anything to anyone. She kept an eye on me to some extent. I think mostly to make sure I stayed under control and didn’t expose werewolves to humans.”

Peter shook his head, “She was friends with Talia. She would have seen it as honoring Talia’s memory by making sure you were ok. I remember though she was militant about consent with accepting pack bonds and she wouldn’t have accepted me into her pack while I was in a coma and unable to give my own consent to it.”

Cora nodded, “That’s how she explained it to me. She visited a few times to help me drain your pain while you were in the ICU and one of her betas kept an eye on you for the full moons. They are one of the night nurses.”

Stiles demanded, “See that’s what I don’t understand. How did non of them pick up you were being poisoned with wolfsbane.”

Chris held up a finger and he said, “Hang on.” He went to the cabinet in the basement and pulled out a few of the jars of the different kinds of wolfsbane and carried them back to the kitchen table. Everyone had finished their breakfast and the table was empty of food.

Chris pointed at the jar with a purple flower inside as he explained, “So normally hunters just use the regular old purple wolfsbane, aconite. If it reaches the heart through the bloodstream the wolf dies. Fairly simple.”

Allison moved to the door to let in Ralph when she heard him knocking.

Chris went on and pointed to the next jar which had a blue flower inside, “This is Nordic blue wolfsbane. Slightly rarer and a strain used often by my sister, Kate. Same deal with the purple if it reaches the heart you die. The problem for wolves is you have to burn it out of the original wound using the same strain you were shot or injected with. So if you try to use purple wolfsbane on nordic blue you die quicker.”

He pointed to the last jar which contained a pink flower. “This is one of the rarer strains. Aconitum Docilem Praebebis, its rarely used by hunters and never by hunters who follow the code. It doesn’t kill a wolf but it subdues the wolf and makes them pliant and open to suggestion or puts them into a coma depending on the dose given.”

Chris said, “I am going to open the jars so you can all get a sense of just how difficult it would be to scent the pink over the purple or blue.”

He watched the reactions of the two other wolves in the room as he opened the three jars as they recoiled from both the purple and the blue but they didn’t have any reaction to the pink flower. 

Cora reached over and she picked up the jar with the pink wolfsbane and brought it closer to her nose, Peter murmured for her to be careful but Chris reassured, “The pink only works on wolves when it’s distilled into a liquid form which dilutes the smell even further.”

Cora shifted into her beta shift to give her better access to her senses and even then she struggled to smell it. “I can smell it but only just.”

Chris said, “I think the only reason I picked it up was because, as an alpha, my senses are even more heightened than a betas, and I recognized the smell that hit the edge of my senses. If an alpha is unaware of the strain they wouldn’t realize.”

Allison said, “Dad was livid when he got home from the hospital and we got straight into planning his… rescue.”

Cora shook the jar with the pink flower, now sealed, and she asked, “Could Kate have used this on the boy she seduced?”

Chris’ eyes opened in realization and he turned to Allison, “That could be a way to track her activities. There is only one supplier that the Argents use for the liquid form of this kind of wolfsbane. If you could track the payments it would give you a timeline and an idea of how many packs she has attacked.”

Stiles tapped his notepad and he commented, “I remember seeing Aconitum Docilem Praebebis in the records and I noted it down to look it up later.” He left the room for a few minutes and came back with a sheet of paper, “Here, it’s buried in the list of various types of wolfsbane on this invoice she had in one of the boxes.”

Allison took the invoice from him and she crowed, “Yes! I can use this to track the payments. Did you see any other invoices in the box?”

Stiles shook his head, “No, this was a fairly recent invoice though. She may have shredded the others so wouldn’t be any evidence.”

She logged into the business bank accounts and found the transaction that matched the date and amount on the invoice. She pointed it out to Chris who had moved to stand behind her with Peter and she asked, “Does that name look familiar?”

Chris shook his head but Peter gasped, “That’s a company Talia dealt with. They supplied our emissary with a lot of the herbs he needed for certain rituals. If I am right it’s run by a pack in Texas.”

Allison asked, “Do you think they know they are supplying to hunters?”

Stiles snarled, “Never mind that, why are they supplying anyone with pink wolfsbane.”

Peter explained, “Some packs use it to help subdue feral omegas when they are trying to integrate them into a new pack. Think of it like a calming draught from Harry Potter. It helps the wolf calm down enough to accept a new pack bond. However, it’s supposed to be regulated and only sold to approved pack alphas.”

Allison placed the invoice on the table and she said, “This shows they are not following the regulations. The invoice is in the name of Victoria Argent. They knew she was from a hunting family and it lists regular, nordic blue, pink, and yellow wolfsbane as well as mistletoe, mountain ash, and a few other herbs.”

Stiles asked, “So who regulates the sales? There is clearly a disconnect somewhere.”

Peter shrugged, “I will need to ask Alpha Satomi. Talia was one of the alphas on the alpha council but I am not sure who replaced her when she died.”

Chris had a horrible feeling and he asked, “Can you remember the names of any of the other alphas?”

Peter said hesitantly, “I am not 100 percent sure, but I can remember the names Leyland, Wade, Howarth, Kendrick, and Standish coming up in conversations about the alpha council.”

With a sinking heart, Chris asked, “Joseph Kendrick?”

Peter nodded hesitantly, “I think so. Why?”

Allison said, “His son was the alpha that attacked Mom and bit Dad. He claimed Victoria helped Kate kill his entire pack.”

Stiles looked up from his laptop and he said, “I searched the names you gave Peter and I found two more possible packs that look like they were taken out by fires. The Leyland fire was outside Seattle and happened two years ago and the Howarth fire was two hours drive outside of San Diego and was eight months before the Leyland fire. 

Allison asked, “So do we go to the alpha council? Or the hunter’s council? Both?”

Stiles shook his head, “This has gone beyond the councils. Beyond either of them. Gerard and Kate might be hunters but they are human. Very human family annihilator serial killers who should be dealt with by the human authorities.”

Peter, trying to defuse the situation, suggested, “How about we start gathering evidence then we talk to Noah about our options. I am going to call Alpha Ito and see what has been going on in my absence. Allison why don't you call that supplier and see if you can get copies of your invoices, maybe claim there was an accident and the copies you need for your accountant were lost.”

Allison said, “If they can email them through we can try and match order dates to each fire. It might help us identify how many fires and when they started.”

Lydia glanced at Stiles and she asked, “Do you have a large blank wall somewhere?”

Jackson and Isaac both understood and they added in unison, “And string and thumbtacks.”

Chris dubiously asked, “Why?”

Lydia explained, “Stiles has a way of seeing things others don’t. If we all gather the evidence and print it out for him, he will be able to create what he calls a crime board that shows out it all links together.”

Isaac said, “It’s like a kind of pattern recognition. He does it with his father's cases on the rare case the sheriff lets him.”

Chris nodded, “We can use the secret room in the basement, it’s long and one wall is completely bare so there should be plenty of room. I just need someone to go get the supplies he will need while we move the printers to the basement.”

Lydia dragged Jackson to the door and she said, “We’ll be back soon with what he needs and snacks for everyone.”

Chris looked at Stiles and noticed that while he appeared to be engrossed in what he was reading he was blushing at the recognition of his skills. 

Stiles felt Chris’ eyes on him and so he explained, “Our group is the smart kids that everyone is too scared to talk to, including most of their parents. Lydia is math smart, like fields medal, millennium problem-solving level smart, I am good at seeing patterns where others wouldn’t notice and like Lydia, I already have the credits to graduate even though I am a sophomore, Jackson is our expert in strategy and tactics which is why he, Danny, and Cora are already on the varsity Lacrosse team as sophomores and its likely Jackson will be captain next year. Issac is our expert in reading people, he will pull us back before we piss people off, Danny is our hacker, no system can keep him out and Cora is our defender. She teaches us all how to fight and how to shut down any fights before they can get started. I have also trained all of them how to shoot with time well spent at the range.”

Cora approached and she said, “Before the fire, Derek and I were being trained to be Laura’s left and right hands. Uncle Peter was training me to replace him as the left hand and Derek was being trained in pack diplomacy and politics by our father so he could take the place as Laura’s second. After the fire when Laura stole Derek and left town I changed my approach and put everything into learning how to defeat an alpha. Alpha Ito helped me get training from a few of her betas who are great fighters and I have been passing that training on to my pack.”

Isaac pulled her into a hug, “Now your Uncle Peter is awake he can easily challenge her once we track her down and he can be the alpha you don’t want to be.”

Cora said quietly, “I just want my twin back. She cut all our bonds when she left including our twin bond.”

Peter snarled, “We’ll find her Lil Bit. I never agreed with the way Talia trained just Laura to be the alpha and she has proven how wrong that decision was by running at the first opportunity.”


	6. Chapter Six

**August 2006**

Lydia and Jackson returned and Allison led them down to the large secret room where Stiles was already surrounded by files.

She handed over the package of different colored strings and thumbtacks and Stiles murmured a quiet, “Thanks Lyds.”

Jackson asked Allison, “What’s he working on?”

Allison pointed to the stack of papers beside Stiles as he was reading through and highlighting certain lines on each invoice, “Those are the invoices from the supplier in Texas. They were fairly standard with only the normal types of wolfsbane and mountain ash being sold to us. About four years ago they started supplying the rarer strains of wolfsbane like pink, blue, and even yellow which they aren’t supposed to sell at all. Stiles is trying to match up orders to the dates of the four fires we know about so he can narrow down the search for other fires.”

Lydia asked, “Where’s Cora?”

Allison pointed upstairs, “She’s with Dad and Peter in the office with Peter’s lawyer, Ralph Vilkas. They are working out how to deal with Peter’s escape and how to hide him for a few weeks after his burns heal.”

Lydia shrugged, “The Hales are well known around Beacon Hills for not socializing and being insular so it won’t be too hard for him to just not be seen in town and when someone sees he’s healed he can say he was away at a clinic. Honestly, they probably won’t even recognize him if they do see him.”

Allison heard her phone ding with a new text and she grinned as she saw the message from her dad thanking Lydia for the insight. She showed it to Lydia who grinned and said, “You’re welcome.”

Lydia asked, “Where are Danny and Isaac?”

“Also upstairs,” Allison explained with the wave of a hand, “Danny is going through the Hale financial records trying to find a trace of the accounts being used after the fire to try and find where Laura may be hiding, Isaac is helping.”

Lydia asked warningly, “Stiles?”

Stiles refused to look up and Lydia demanded, “Did you snap at Isaac, Stiles?”

Stiles nodded as he pinned invoices to the wall, “Not intentionally. Look, you know how I get when I zone. I know he was trying to help but we all know I work better when left to my own devices. Can one of you check on him, please?”

Jackson left to go upstairs to check on the boys while Lydia handed over a bag of snacks. She explained, “If he starts to look like he's flagging, hand over a packet of the Reece’s, they should tide him over until lunch is ready. 

Lydia stalked upstairs and left Allison to babysit Stiles. The pair spent the next few hours exchanging small talk as Stiles subtly interrogated Allison to see how she would fit in with their pack. They might only have one werewolf for now but they were definitely a pack.

Meanwhile upstairs Ralph was going through options with Cora for bringing her back to life since she was declared dead in the fire. He was impressed with the level of detail in the identity a then fourteen-year-old Danny had built for her so she wouldn’t have to leave Beacon Hills. 

Chris pulled Peter gently from the room and took him to the master bedroom which had soundproofing wards. Peter raised an eyebrow and he drawled, “A bit presumptuous don't you think, Christopher.”

Chris chuckled and helped him to sit down on the edge of the bed before he crouched in front of him. He explained, “It’s the only room with proper soundproofing. I wanted to talk privately about the pack bite. For one I am not sure how to do it and you haven’t said either way if you want me as your alpha.”

Peter said quietly, “It nearly killed me when you left town. No warning, you were just gone one day.”

Chris hung his head so it was practically in Peter’s lap and he murmured, “I never wanted to leave. It was to keep you alive. Dad caught us in the preserve and he threatened to kill your entire pack over it. I promised to leave town and not come back if he would leave your pack alone. He said he made you promise to never talk to me again and that in response Talia tore up the treaty we had.”

Peter shook his head, “No. All we knew is that your family left town quietly. It was the fodder for a lot of gossips, and there were a lot of rumors about me interfering with Kate. That's why Talia withdrew from town matters and sent her kids to Devonford Prep.”

Chris frowned, “Fuck, Gerard would have happily spread those rumors to fuck with the pack, and with you specifically.”

“Bastard,” Peter muttered as he started to rub Chris’ back, “So what happened after you left town? I mean you obviously have a daughter.”

Chris explained, “They used the threat of killing you to force me to marry Victoria. The marriage was to seal an alliance with another hunting family. Allison was conceived by IVF as part of the terms of the contract. I refused point-blank to sleep with Victoria. Contract or no, it would have felt like cheating on you.”

Peter smiled and he said, “Do you still feel the same way now?”

Chris looked up and he said, “Absolutely. You’re my safe place, Peter. As soon as I realized we needed to go into hiding this was the only place I wanted to be.”

He whispered, “I didn’t know they broke the agreement and attacked your pack. I promise you I didn’t know.”

“I believe you,” Peter kissed the top of his head. “Ok, so pack bites. When you bite someone, either a born wolf like me to accept them into the pack or a human you want to make into a werewolf, you just have to do it with intent. So you would think about what you want as you bite them. You will need to consider biting a few people to help with your control. Your wolf will start to push you to bite random people which is where the feral behavior usually starts.”

Chris asked, “Won’t you and Cora be enough?”

Peter shook his head, “Yes, and no. While I am still a beta we’ll be enough to keep your wolf calm and controlled. But when I challenge Laura I will become an alpha which means that we'll need more betas to compensate for there being multiple alphas in the same pack. Allison said she wants the bite, maybe you could make the same offer to the kids in Cora’s pack. Just, not Lydia or Stiles, Lydia will be immune as a banshee and I need to research how the bite would affect a spark.”

Chris smirked, “You’re avoiding my question. Do you want me to be your alpha, Peter?”

Peter heard the unspoken, ‘do you want me?’ and he leaned forward and cupped Chris’ cheek, when Chris leaned into the caress he leaned forward and whispered, “Bite me, Alpha,” as he gently kissed him.

When Chris finally pulled out of the kiss Peter bared his throat and repeated, “Bite me, Alpha.”

Chris pushed Peter back onto the bed and he climbed up so he was straddling him. As Peter gripped his hips he leaned forward and nosed at Peter’s neck, he whispered, “I may not know a lot about wolves beyond the hunter rhetoric but I know that a bite on the neck has meaning, permanent meaning. So… last chance, are you sure?”

Peter cupped the back of Chris’ neck pulling him closer as he said firmly, “Bite me, Chris… please!”

Chris leaned in and in his beta shift, he bit down hard on Peter’s neck. He smiled as he felt the mate bond start to form as he moved so Peter could return the bite to solidify their bond. 

With a gasp, Peter pulled Chris in tighter as the new pack bond was giving his wolf the strength to kick start the healing on the worst of his burns. He had to concentrate so the burns that were visible on his face and hand were left unhealed for now. He had a feeling he would need to go to the sheriff’s station to make a report on the fire to get the case reopened. He snuggled into Chris and they dozed off for a while just happy that they were finally mated. It only took twenty years after Peter first told Chris he was his mate.

A few hours later they were woken by a knock on the door. Chris stood and straightened his rumpled clothes before he opened the door and found Noah on the other side.

“Noah?” Chris asked, “What’s wrong?”

Noah chuckled as he said, “Nothing, the kids were just too chicken to disturb the pair of you. You should come down, dinner is ready and Danny and Isaac have a lead on Laura’s location.”

Peter stood behind Chris and pushed him through the bedroom door, he was hungry after all the healing his body had been doing.

They all sat down to the meal and Peter asked, “Where is she?”

Danny passed over a piece of paper and he said, “It looks like she’s living in the house on the east side of New York that’s owned by one of the Hale shell companies. She’s still registered at Columbia.”

Isaac added sadly, “But, we can’t find evidence of Derek attending any of the high schools near the house. We went through all of them looking through all the new students to see if any of them looked like a Hale and no joy.”

Peter frowned, “The house is a good 45 minutes drive in good traffic from Columbia, why isn’t she in one of the houses we bought for those attending college?”

Danny shrugged, “The house we think she’s in is the only one not in the Hale name in New York. You have several that are closer but they are all known to be owned by the Hales.”

Peter scoffed, “Or, she thinks those she left behind won’t know about the shell company. Which is stupid because I’m the one who set it up. It was for me and Ralph to use on the rare occasions we have meetings with our New York based clients.”

Ralph explained, “We had to since I am not a Hale and can’t get through the wards on the Hale houses without Peter beside me.”

Stiles scoffed, “If there are even wards setup. If there were wards on the main house the hunters wouldn’t have got close enough to set the fire. I know I didn’t sense any out there when we took Cora out there to see if anything was salvageable.”

Noah held his hand up to stop his son's rant and he said, “One issue at a time, Stiles. First, we deal with Laura and we get them both back here.”

Peter nodded, “I can send Ralph with notification of an official challenge. If that doesn’t work we can use Talia and River’s wills which stated that I got custody of the kids if they died.”

Ralph rolled his eyes, “She ran before the wills could be read.”

With a smirk, Noah asked, “Was she on the list of those who would be granted custody of Derek?”

Ralph shook his head, “No. The list was Peter, myself, Alpha Ito and if none of us were willing the three of us would find the kids a suitable guardian.”

Cora asked, “Is that why Alpha Ito offered me a place in the pack?”

Ralph nodded, “Yeah kiddo. She had a reciprocal arrangement with Talia that if she died that Talia would take in the pack members left behind.”

Noah suggested, “So, if she ignores the formal challenge we can bring Derek back here as she doesn’t have legal custody and he’s still a minor. Is she likely to follow?”

Peter nodded, “Only four of us survived the fire and she cut two of our pack bonds so Derek will be the only bond preventing her from going feral.”

Cora asked quietly, “Will the pack bond give me back my twin bond?”

Peter pulled her in close and he said, “If it doesn’t we'll find a ritual that does.”

Stiles offered, “I can help with that. Sparks do well with wards and rituals remember.”

Slyly, Lydia asked, “So how do we send the formal challenge? Do we need to send someone to New York to deliver the challenge personally?”

Jackson deadpanned, “No. You already hit LA this month, any more and your father will cut off your credit card.”

Lydia glared at him and she said, “As if he would dare. He’s still using me to suck up to mom in the hope she will ignore the fact that he’s slept with his last four secretaries. He knows if he pisses me off I will hire mom a divorce lawyer.”

“Drama aside,” Noah said loudly over the two bickering teens, “What do we need to do to issue the challenge.”

Peter gestured to Lydia, “She’s right, we would normally send the pack emissary to issue the challenge but only Laura knows who it is now.”

Stiles cried out, “Bags not being emissary. I would rather burn the world than employ diplomacy even if it’s normally the job of the magic-user.”

Peter looked searchingly at Lydia and he asked, “Do you know what’s expected?”

Lydia shook her head, “No, Cora has taught us what she can but she doesn’t know much about the political side of the pack. I would be willing to go through and I am probably the best person to go since she won’t be able to intimidate me or attack me.”

Peter smirked, “You have your scream?”

The pack of teens all shuddered in acknowledgment that yes indeed did Lydia Martin know how to scream. Peter chuckled and he said, “I take it from their shudders that you have the banshee scream nailed.”

Lydia smiled brightly, “I do. I have even mastered it so I can focus the scream on a specific target.”

Peter smiled, “Good, do I need to talk to your parent’s?”

Noah shook his head, “Don’t go there. For the love of all things sane, you do not want to go anywhere near either of her parents. Just... just let Lydia deal with them, for the sake of all of our sanity.”

Lydia scowled, “They aren’t that bad!”

Noah gave her a disbelieving look as he said, “You didn’t have to attend the noise complaint last week when they were screaming at each other on the front lawn. It really was that bad.”

Lydia buried her face in her hands and she mumbled, “I’m going to New York for a few days. Maybe the shopping will get me over my embarrassing parents. If they ask I am staying with Cora for a few days. Jackson can come with me as back up.”

Peter agreed, “I can book you on a flight tomorrow morning and set you up in a hotel near the house. It’s fairly centrally located so let me know if you have a preference.”

Noah turned to Ralph and he said, “I need you to bring Peter to the station tomorrow, Tara needs your statement about the nurse. Ralph, you will need the will so you can report Derek missing so we can get that ball rolling if the challenge doesn’t work.”

Peter glanced at Chris and he said, “I also need to make a report about the fire. I could hear Kate talking to a couple of the other arsonists from where I was crouching in the basement.”

Noah nodded, “With that, I can get the case reopened and an investigation into the arson investigator started.”

Stiles muttered, “About damn time.”

Noah raised an eyebrow at the snark from his son and he asked, “Something to add, Stiles?”

Stiles shrugged, “The investigator closed the case four days after the fire. Mr. Myers didn’t even run any lab tests and he closed the case in such a way that you couldn’t touch it unless someone came forward and produced evidence it was arson.”

“Right,” Noah nodded, “Once we have Peter’s witness statement we can reopen the case and get some testing done on the house to prove it was arson.”

Cora said, “The last time I was out at the house, the smell of accelerant was really strong.”

Chris offered, “I can go through the Argent financials and see if I can track down any bribes done around that time. That should help you narrow down the search for Kate’s accomplices.”

Noah glanced at Ralph and he said, “I am going to keep most of this on paper records for now until we have all the kids home and protected.”

Allison offered, “I can scan your network to see if Kate left any of her usual monitoring software behind if you like.” 

Noah glanced at Danny and he asked, “Will you help her?”

Danny nodded, “Allison will know what to look for but I am happy to help. Want us to come down with Peter and Ralph?”

Noah smiled, “Good idea, you guys can set up in my office while we interview Peter in one of the conference rooms.”


	7. Chapter Seven

**August 2006**

The next morning was a flurry of activity. They dropped Lydia and Jackson off at the local airport. Ralph offered his assistant to accompany them on the trip but he quickly withdrew the offer at the scathing look he got from the redhead.

Peter had written up a formal challenge notification that would require Laura to appear with Derek in Beacon Hills within the next week. He warned in a separate note that charges were being filed for the kidnapping of a minor as she was not granted custody in her mother's will. Lydia was given clear instructions to say nothing to Laura and to just hand her the envelope.

Cora gave them both tight hugs before they boarded the plane. It would be the first time any member of her pack had been so far away from her since the fire.

She then accompanied Ralph, Peter, Allison, and Danny to the station. Noah showed Allison and Danny to his office and he left them to it. He got a weird look from Deputy Graeme but he just mouthed, ‘trust me’ and she shrugged and left them to it. He planned to fill her in on the supernatural aspects of things as his second in command, so he would have a backup for supernatural cases. He took the other three through to one of the interview rooms so Peter could give his statement.

After a brief interview about Peter’s disappearance from the hospital, Ralph handed over copies of his bloodwork from an independent lab across town from the hospital that showed he had a high concentration of a rare strain of aconite as well as digitalis in his bloodstream. Ralph also handed over a report showing he had received treatment for the aconite poisoning.

Noah left them to write out their witness statements from the night of the fire as he went to find out what was happening with the nurse.

Tara reported that they had found her real ID and she had outstanding warrants in Idaho for similar angel of mercy style deaths at a large hospital in Boise. Noah wondered to himself if that was related to another victim of the fire and he sent a copy of the report to his email with a note to investigate the victims. Tara was still waiting on the autopsies from the other deaths in the long-term care ward before she could formally file charges.

Noah pulled Tara into one of the observation rooms and he asked, “Can you do all your records on paper rather than electronically. It appears we have a mole in the system reporting back to her employers and we want more time to investigate just how far this goes.”

Tara narrowed her eyes and she demanded, “Explain!”

Noah took a deep breath and he said, “The Hale Fire wasn’t an accident. It was one of several serial family annihilation murders. I am working with an old friend who is helping me gather evidence to present to the FBI.”

Tara asked, “But the case is closed. It was closed when it was declared as an accidental electrical malfunction.”

Noah rolled his eyes, “Except, when you go out to the house there is still a strong smell of accelerant. Which wasn’t noted in the file anywhere, nor were any lab tests done to rule out arson.”

Tara scowled, “Oh. Do you have a file already running offline for evidence gathering? Is that what the kids are doing in your office?”

Noah shook his head, “They are looking for software that may be installed on the network that reports externally if specific names or words come up in case reports.”

Noah handed over the blood test results. “For your case file. Mr. Hale is lucky he woke up enough to walk out of the hospital before she overdosed him.”

Tara nodded, “She seemed to go for one overdose every 6-8 weeks, long enough apart that no one would think the deaths are related.”

Noah tapped the warrant and he asked, “Let me know if you find other hospitals she’s worked in. If they have similar deaths they may relate to the fire cases I am investigating.”

Tara’s jaw dropped, “You think they are burning down the houses and then sending her into the hospitals to torture and kill any survivors? That’s sick.”

Noah nodded, “It is. We know through talking to associates of the main arsonist that she employed the nurse and placed her at Beacon Hills Hospital. We just don’t know her purpose and I doubt she will tell us. Anyway, I have Cora and Peter writing out their witness statement from the night of the fire.”

Tara held up her hand, “Wait, Cora Hale? She survived?”

Noah nodded, “She’s been under our noses the entire time, well my nose at least. Stiles' best friend Cora is Cora Hale, she’s been hiding under a fake ID at the Mahealani’s house since the fire. She didn’t want to risk being found out by the person who attacked her family so Stiles and his group of friends took her in and vowed to keep her safe.”

Tara muttered, “Those kids are a perfect example of why smart people shouldn’t be underestimated.”

Noah laughed, “People have always underestimated my son, he likes it that way.”

Tara walked with Noah back to the interview room and Ralph handed over their witness statements so Tara could make him copies for his records. Meanwhile, Noah asked Cora, “So kiddo, are you coming back to life now, or after everyone’s been arrested?”

Cora smirked, “After. It keeps me and my pack safe if people continue to think I died in the fire.”

As Tara slipped back into the room Noah asked Peter, “You gave Laura a week to return with Derek? So you do want to wait until the time is nearly up before you file the missing persons report?”

Peter nodded, “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. He’s only sixteen so that will still trigger an Amber Alert right?”

“Yeah,” Noah confirmed, “Which is likely not the best idea for either of you.”

In the office, Danny and Allison were typing furiously as they made their way through the various computers on the network looking for any sign of tampering. They were both frustrated at their lack of progress and they resorted to installing their own monitoring software, one to monitor what was sent out to external sources and the other to monitor what was being saved onto external drives as Danny had a feeling someone might be getting paid to find the information.

When Noah entered the office they let him know what they had done and that there was no obvious sign of tampering. They would need to examine each of the desktops to be sure which just wasn’t possible.

So with a quick break for lunch at the nearby diner, Noah eventually took them all back to the Argent’s house to regroup.

In New York, Jackson and Lydia had landed and left the terminal to find the driver that Ralph had promised them so they wouldn’t have to rely on taxis. He was a tall stoic man who was holding a sign that said Martin/Whittemore so there would be no confusion.

Lydia silently handed over the address they needed to go to and she had a gut feeling they should go sooner rather than later, so she made the call that they would go straight to pass on the envelope instead of waiting until tomorrow morning. She smiled when she saw the gorgeous black Audi A8 waiting at the curb for them, there was plenty of room in the back for them to stretch out on as they made their way slowly across town during rush hour traffic.

Lydia knew it was important to make a good impression on the alpha, no matter how much of a failure she felt she was, so she spent time when they arrived to touch up her make-up and straighten up her and Jackson’s clothes so they presented a good image. 

Lydia rang the buzzer for the apartment with a perfectly manicured nail and when the scratchy voice came through the intercom Lydia replied, “We have a delivery for Hale.”

The scratchy voice said, “Can you just leave it on the stoop, please.”

Lydia shook her head, “They never covered this, I will need to word it just right to get whoever it is down here. Peter was clear the envelope had to be passed on to at least a member of her pack.”

Jackson looked up and he could see a shadow in the window so he murmured too quiet for wolf ears, “Why not use the word formal and stress that you have to ensure delivery.”

Lydia pressed the intercom button and she said, “I can’t do that. I have a formal delivery for the Hales that has to be placed in their hands before I can return.”

Jackson moved closer when he could hear thumping feet on the stairwell as Lydia stood in front of the door looking calm and composed.

Derek flung the door open and he snarled, “What!”

Lydia waved the envelope and she said, “I have a delivery for Laura Hale.”

Derek shook his head, “She won't be home until midnight, she’s at work right now.”

Lydia sighed, she didn’t want to come back here to deliver the challenge. “Can you promise to pass on the envelope to her, she must receive it within the next 24 hours.”

When Derek nodded Lydia held her hand with the envelope out but she dropped it when she saw the myriad of expressions cross Derek’s face before he muttered, “Cora.”

Derek took a step back and he demanded, “Why can I smell Cora, my twin died in the fire with the rest of our family.”

Jackson took his phone out of his pocket and he showed Derek a fairly recent photo he had taken of Cora and Stiles as he said, “I took this last weekend when we were out training in the preserve.”

Lydia explained, “She found us after the fire and she was a mess. We took her in and used our extensive resources to hide her in plain sight. She’s been attending Beacon Hills High under a fake name since the fire as a transfer student. From what we understand, Laura cut the pack bond and somehow cut your twin bond before she took you away from Beacon Hills.”

Derek begged, “Take me home? To Cora. Please?”

Lydia glanced at Jackson before she nodded, “Go pack the basics, we can be in the air before Laura gets home. Just leave the envelope where she will see it. Ok?”

Derek took the envelope and he sprinted upstairs to pack his duffle bag as Jackson started looking for a flight home. Lydia talked to the driver and he agreed to take them straight back to the airport. He reassured her that he would cancel the hotel booking and he would keep quiet about his extra passenger.

Five minutes later they were on the way back to the airport and booked on a flight that left in just over two hours. Derek was nervous and excited to be returning home and he peppered the teens for information on Cora and what she had been up to in the last eighteen months. Neither of the teens mentioned Peter’s survival or the arrival of the Argents. They agreed that both revelations were better done in person.

They found Ralph waiting for them at the airport when they finally arrived just after midnight local time. He was surprised to see Derek and Lydia just shrugged and she said, “It’s not kidnapping if he asks? Right?”

Ralph chuckled and he said, “Get in kids, everyone's waiting for you both to report. This is going to be fun.”

Derek asked nervously, “Are we going to see Cora?”

Ralph smiled, “Yep, she’s going to be beyond happy to see you!”

Back at the house, everyone was combing through various financial statements looking for possible bribes and highlighting them for further investigation. Chris was looking forward to cutting off his family from their investment funds. When he left Falls Church he had made sure that all the account login and passwords were changed and everyone else was removed from the accounts as authorized to make changes. He had left them access to their credit cards for now to give him some breathing room to escape but he knew once they had realized their access was gone they would be gunning for him.

Peter checked his phone and he murmured to Chris, “Ralph is on his way here with Lydia and Jackson. Apparently, there was a hiccup and they flew back straight away.”

Chris asked, “Do you know what the hiccup was?”

Peter shook his head, “No, I asked but Ralph has gone silent. He’s probably driving back from the airport.” He looked around at the teens and he asked, “Is there anyone open this late that delivers?”

Stiles nodded and he pulled up the number for a local Chinese takeaway before passing over his phone, “Just give them the number of people and any allergies and they will send a good selection. For wolves make sure you count each wolf as three people to get enough for their super metabolism. They are fairly used to large orders as we often order at weird hours with the Lacrosse team from school. Add an extra person or two for Jackson, especially if all he has eaten all day is airplane food.”

Chris nodded and he made the call, he took Stiles advice and just rounded it up. He knew if there were any leftovers that they would get eaten. Once the call was done Stiles took his phone and the papers they had gone through and he took them down to the basement to start adding to his crime wall.

Ralph pulled up just behind the delivery guy and he waited with the teens as the food was delivered and the guy left. Chris passed the food to the two teens just behind him before he looked up the group approached the house. Surprised to hear the extra unexpected heartbeat, Chris’ jaw dropped when he saw Derek flanked by Lydia and Jackson.

Ralph put his finger to his lips in a plea for silence and he asked, “May we come in?”

Chris nodded mutely and gestured them into the house, he took Derek’s duffle and placed it at the bottom of the stairs before he led them through to the living room where the food was being set out on the coffee table.

He saw Peter and Cora both standing looking at the door with their eyes glowing. Ralph entered first followed by Jackson and Lydia who were smiling. Peter was about to ask how the delivery went but he froze when another teen entered the room eliciting a whine from his throat.

Cora ran across the room and barrelled into her twin taking him down in a tackle as she glomped onto him.

Peter turned to Lydia and he demanded, “What happened?”

Lydia shrugged and she said, “I followed my gut and we went straight to the apartment from the airport. It took us a bit to get Derek to come down to receive the envelope. When he did, he told us Laura was at work until midnight but he promised to pass on the envelope.”

Jackson interrupted, “He smelled Cora on us and pretty much begged us to bring him home with us. We made the call to go straight back to the airport rather than risk being found by Laura.”

Lydia said quietly, “I got the impression that Laura told him you both died.”

Derek muttered from the floor where he was clinging to Cora like a limpet, “She did, she knew the fire was my fault too.”

Chris muttered, “Fuck. Seriously? She blamed you for that bitch drugging you so you were easily seduced?”

Cora stood and she pulled a subdued Derek to his feet and she started dragging him through the house. 

Derek asked, “Where are we going?” 

Cora explained, “Stiles is working on our crime board downstairs. I am going to show you how you were just one of many she has done this too.”

Derek asked, “What’s a Stiles?”


	8. Chapter Eight

**August 2006**

Stiles looked up and he murmured, “Holy hotness.”

Cora barked, “Stiles!”

Stiles grinned, “What Cora, I have eyes and I am all about the equal opportunity ogling, you know this!”

Cora shook her head and she said, “No ogling my twin, Stiles!”

Derek shrugged, “I don’t mind.” He moved away from Cora to look at the photo of Kate on the wall. He pointed and he said, “That's Katie Silva. She was my French teacher she set fire to the house because I wouldn’t sleep with her.”

Stiles shook his head, “No dude. That’s Kate Argent and she set fire to the house because she’s a hunter who doesn’t follow the code.”

Derek muttered, “Don’t call me dude.”

Stiles grinned, “What would you prefer, your wolfiness. Spot? Rover? What about Fido?”

Derek scowled, “Are you always such an asshole?”

Cora and Stiles both nodded in affirmation. Stiles smirked and he said, “Awww, don’t be such a Sourwolf.”

Cora pulled her twin to the wall and she said, “Most of this is evidence to prove that Kate was behind the fire that killed our family. The rest is evidence we are gathering to prove she has done it before to at least four other packs that we have found so far.”

Stiles interjected, “Five. I found proof of another arson investigator being bribed and the family name is on the list Peter gave me earlier. I have added the date of the fire to the list for Danny and Allison to dig out case files.”

Cora asked, “Are the bank statements helping?”

Stiles nodded, “Victoria was predictable to some extent. The fire investigator was almost always paid off within days of the fire. Other bribes were paid before the fire either by cash withdrawal or by direct deposit. Danny found a few of the bribes were to deputies who accepted the bribe directly into their main bank account. They didn't even try to hide it.”

Derek asked, “That guy upstairs mentioned Kate drugged me? I didn’t think we could be drugged.”

Peter and Chris entered the room and Peter said, “We can be, but the wolfsbane that does it is supposed to be restricted and sold only to approved pack alphas.”

Chris said sadly, “My family had somehow found a way around that restriction about five years ago, and the fires seem to have started about a year later.”

Derek snapped his gaze to Chris and he demanded, “Your family?”

Peter pulled Chris into his side and he said, “This is Chris Argent, now Chris Fletcher.”

Chris returned the side hug before he approached the wall and he said, “Kate is my sister. She was working with my late wife to attack peaceful packs. Something I found out when one of their victims attacked us at home a few weeks ago. Kate had seduced his younger brother and when he reported it to the police in their area the cops called him a liar and he ended up committing suicide when he blamed himself for the death of his family. The alpha was near feral and he attacked us to avenge his pack.”

Derek asked quietly, “You weren’t involved?”

Chris shook his head, “Hell no. I would only go on hunts requested by the council where the supernatural was at risk of exposure. The rest of the time I was kept busy with running the company I inherited from my mother, Argent Arms. I inherited everything when she died as I was the oldest Argent. Gerard married into the family. Mom taught me that no matter what the hunter’s code is sacrosanct.”

Derek nodded and Peter finally pulled him in for a long-overdue hug. Derek murmured, “What happened to you? Laura told me you died and I felt your pack bond break.” He gently felt down the burns on Peter’s face, “These look bad.”

Peter sat them down on one of the beds and he said, “I was in a coma after the fire. Chris and his daughter kidnapped me from the hospital and once the wolfsbane I was being drugged with was out of my system I was able to heal most of the burns. I would have come out of it after a few days except one of Kate’s associates joined the hospital staff and started to drug me while I was still in the ICU.”

Chris sat opposite and he said, “She was one of Kate’s crew that she sent in to clean up after the fires. We are not sure if she was supposed to be drugging Peter or if she was doing her own off the books experiment.”

Derek saw the look Peter was giving Chris and he asked, “Is he your Chris,” he used finger quotes, “The One?”

Peter blushed and nodded, “Yeah, he is.”

Derek snorted, “And he rescued you as all good princes do for damsels in distress.”

He leaped up before Peter could grab him and ran to hide behind Cora as Stiles dissolved into giggles. Peter scowled at Chris who was trying not to laugh.

Chris stood and he said, “Right you lot, dinner will be cold by now but you all need to eat. There should be plenty left since all the wolves in the house are down here.”

Stiles walked past and he reassured, “I usually order from that place because the food is good hot or cold. Their dishes also reheat well and they’re healthy enough for dad to eat.”

The wolves all followed him up to the living room to join the rest of their hodgepodge pack in eating and relaxing.

They eventually pulled all the mattresses from the house into a pile in the middle of the living room and spent the night cuddled together in a giant puppy pile to solidify growing pack bonds. Derek and Cora were both happy to accept Chris as their new alpha to join their uncle in the new pack. 

-x-

Ralph took Derek and Peter to the station the next day so Derek could give a statement about Kate’s actions and to explain where he had been since the fire. He was informed that Laura never had official custody of him and she was being investigated to see if she could be charged with kidnapping of a minor.

Noah put in a good word with child services along with a copy of the will and custody was given to Peter with Ralph agreeing to be backup if Peter needed help.

Peter spent the next few days with help from Cora and Derek training Chris in control. He already had great control in most of his wolfy side thanks to remembering a lot of what Peter taught him about wolves as a teen. Also, the epic levels of self-control he had to learn to keep a blank mask around the crazy people in his family. After they ripped him away from Peter he refused to let them see how to hurt him again. The only Argents who saw past his mask were his mother and his daughter.

Noah talked to Ralph and between the two of them they arranged for a therapist that was aware of the supernatural to see Derek and Peter at least a few times a week to start with. They were both worried about the effects of Kate and Laura’s actions on Derek, especially since Laura appeared to do nothing about the fact that Derek had been stalked by a sexual predator and didn’t seem to realize just how wrong her behavior was.

Noah made the offer of therapy to Cora but she declined, she felt she had a good support network in her pack and didn’t want a stranger adding their two cents.

“Uncle Peter?” Derek asked hesitantly as he approached his uncle and his alpha as they were cuddling on the couch.

Peter sat up and he asked, “What’s going on, pup?”

Derek nervously shuffled his feet and he asked, “Can you take me to see Boyd and Erica? I haven’t been able to tell them I am ok.”

Chris asked, “Why not?”

Peter snarled, “I told her not to teach Laura how to use the alpha command until she had proven she was responsible. She ordered you to not contact anyone right?”

Derek nodded, “Yeah. I wasn’t even allowed to contact them to let them know I survived the fire.”

The mates stood and started walking to the door, Peter noticed Derek wasn’t following so he said, “Come on Derek, let’s go see if Boyd’s still in the same place.”

Derek grinned and he jogged to catch up. As they drove over Chris asked, “Are they aware of the supernatural?”

Derek laughed, “Hell no, Mom refused to let us tell anyone mundane.”

Peter turned so he was facing Derek and he asked, “Do you want to tell them? Bring them into the pack with the other kids?”

Derek looked pensive and he said, “Only if the bite is on the table if they want it. Erica has severe epilepsy and the bite would cure it.”

Chris commented, “The bite will be on the table but they will need to understand how a pack works and what is required of pack members before it’s offered.”

Peter added, “Allison has already asked for the bite and Chris plans to bite her after the full moon. I am pretty sure Jackson and Isaac are also interested but they aren’t aware it’s an option yet.”

Chris suggested, “Why don’t you invite them around to our place and we can give them the supernatural 101 while the others are researching, I am sure we can get them home before all the full moon excitement.”

Derek agreed, “Sound’s good. I wouldn’t suggest telling their parents, Boyd’s grandmother is very religious and would not take well to creatures and magic and Erica’s parents are, well, its hard to explain but her epilepsy requires a lot of time and money in medical bills.”

Peter asked, “They take it out on her?”

Derek nodded, “Sort of, yeah, her last seizure before the fire they didn’t even visit her in the hospital.”

Chris pulled into the driveway at Boyd’s house and before the SUV had pulled to a complete stop Derek was out the door and knocking on Boyd’s front door.

They watched as Derek greeted a tall black teen at the door before he was tackled by a blonde missile and taken down to the ground.

The mated pair got out of the SUV, concerned when the blonde seemed to be yelling and hitting Derek a lot.

They approached and Peter enquired, “Derek?”

Derek and Boyd were both laughing as she continued to yell. Derek looked up at his uncle and he reassured them he was ok as Erica was starting to run out of steam.

Boyd walked over and he said, “Let him up, Erica. I am sure he has a good explanation for why he left us hanging for eighteen months.”

Derek helped Erica back to her feet and he nodded, “I do. It’s a long story so we wanted to invite you back to Chris’ house for the explanation with others who are involved.”

Erica nodded so Boyd agreed, “Sure, let me go get Erica’s bag and let my grandma know I am going out.”

Derek whispered to Erica, “She hasn’t changed?”

Erica sadly shook her head, “She still blames him for Alicia going missing when he was ten.”

Derek scowled, “Seriously? She needs to realize that she could have been charged for leaving the kids at the rink without supervision.”

Erica shrugged as Boyd barrelled out the door, passed Erica her backpack and he hurriedly said, “Let’s go before she changes her mind.”

Chris unlocked the SUV and they all jumped in. Erica asked, “So who are the others that you mentioned?”

Peter said, “Chris’ daughter and a few other local teens that have adopted us. It will be easier to just introduce you when we get there. We’ll also explain why Derek wasn’t able to keep in touch.”

“Thank you!” Erica exclaimed, “We tried calling after we heard about the fire but his phone was already disconnected.”

Chris got them all settled in the lounge and he and Peter explained about the fire which was fairly obvious by his still visible scars, the supernatural, werewolves, and the hunters. Derek then took over the explanation and told his friends how Laura used her alpha ability to force him to leave town the day after the fire and told him their entire family died. The two teens took it pretty well so they took them down to the secret room to show them the investigation progress.

Erica bounced into the room when she caught sight of Stiles and she yelled, “Batman!”

Stiles' head popped up from the box of statements he was searching through and he yelled back, “Catwoman! What brings you here?”

She motioned with her thumb over her shoulder in Derek’s general direction and she said, “That lug. We’ve been friends since we started at Devonford Prep together.”

Boyd snickered behind Erica’s shoulder and he exclaimed as he pointed at the teens, “I told you that was Cora I saw outside the high school.”

Erica bounced over to Stiles and she asked, “So this is your crime board?”

Stiles spent some time explaining the different boards to the new teens and where they were at with each of the investigations. He noticed it was nearing dinner time by the time he was done explaining so he asked, “Are you guys staying for the full moon shenanigans?”

Boyd raised an eyebrow in question so Stiles explained, “We have Chris who will be going through his first moon with a new pack, so, shenanigans shall be had. We are going to stay down here with them but they will be locked behind mountain ash that will keep them contained. I mean, it’s up to Chris and Derek I guess but I’m cool with you guys staying.”

Erica looked at Chris with puppy dog pleading eyes. Chris sighed and he asked, “Won’t your parents notice when you don’t go home?”

Erica shook her head, “They will just assume I am at Boyd’s, Boyd’s grandmother will assume he is at a friends house.”

Chris stared at Noah and he asked, “What the hell is wrong with the parents in this town? The only parents of this group who’s give-a-fuck isn’t broken is yours and Jackson's parents.”

Jackson smirked and he said, “I don’t count, I’m actually adopted.”

Stiles added, “I am pretty sure if there was something to your theory it wouldn’t affect dad due to the protection’s he has on his sheriff’s badge. I warded it with every type of personal protection ward I could find as soon as I learned how.”

Noah hummed, “He does have a point though Stiles. I never noticed it before but most of the parents in Beacon Hills don’t worry much about their kids and what they are getting up to.”

Stiles shrugged as he flailed his arm at the wall, “Something we can look into after we clear up all that.”

Lydia looked considering and she asked, “What if cleaning this up fixes that. I mean, getting a stable pack to return to the territory and balance the land again will fix a lot of the smaller issues this territory has.”

Stiles held up his hand and he said, “Let’s get dinner sorted and these guys sealed away then we can discuss it further once we are settled in for the night.”

Peter asked, “While we sort out dinner, Cora can you take Stiles and Lydia to the vault and grab the magic books stored down there. You will need to take a few boxes as I managed to collect quite a few.”

Cora frowned and she said, “I thought the library was destroyed in the fire.”

Peter agreed sadly, “Most of it was, but the most important and rare books were stored in the vault, most of those were the books on magic I didn’t want the druid that worked as our emissary getting his hands on while he was so standoffish with the rest of the pack.”

Stiles stood to accompany Cora and he said to Peter, “I want more info on that tonight, please. There aren’t supposed to be any druids in town according to the notes my mother left for me.”

Noah suggested, “Why don’t you stop in at home and get your mother's journals. They might be helpful to read through.”

Stiles nodded and the group left as the rest of the teens stood to help in the kitchen with a mammoth cook-off. Isaac went through the cabinets before he figured out what they could make and started ordering people to help prep, or in Jackson’s case get downstairs set up for a giant sleepover. Jackson roped Boyd and Erica in, Boyd to help carry all the mattresses downstairs and to move the bed frames out of the way for the night, and Erica to get enough plates and cutlery for everyone downstairs so they could eat as a group.

Eventually, dinner was done and they carried it downstairs as Stiles and Lydia each carried a box of books down the stairs and Cora followed, showing off, with three large boxes in her arms.

Stiles got the wolves settled behind the mountain ash barrier and they started going through all the books and journals with Stiles and Allison passing books to the wolves when they found something interesting.


	9. Chapter Nine

**August 2006**

It would be nice to say the full moon went without a hitch, and in a perfect world, they would have spent the night researching and having a nice slumber party like an average bunch of teens with adult supervision. However, everything Chris had been pushing down, all the anger and the unmitigated rage at his family came out with his wolf. 

Chris spent several hours trying to push his way through the mountain ash barrier and growling at the various humans to break the line and let him out. This worried Stiles enough that he set a second barrier outside the first then another barrier across the door. 

Peter handed Cora and Derek a book at the start of the evening, it was one of the rarer books in the vault that had information about twin bonds in wolves. They spent the night using the advice from the book rebuilding the bond safely without affecting the pack bond they had with Chris and their Uncle Peter.

Peter spent the night trying to calm Chris down and wishing he knew what had happened to their alpha level restraints. He had texted Cora to look for them while she was in the vault but she had let him know when they returned that she could only find the standard restraints they used on beta wolves which would have been useless on an alpha, even a newbie alpha like Chris. 

Eventually, after several hours, Chris calmed down enough to snuggle into Peter and he murmured too quiet for anyone else to hear, “I just want to end them for what they have done.”

Peter whispered, “Why end them when we can let them rot in prison. Serial killers get life without parole or the death penalty. I can suggest they take the death penalty off the table and I am sure there are a few wolves that work as prison guards who will request a transfer for the chance to torture an Argent once word gets out.”

Chris nodded in agreement, “As long as they pay and it hurts as much as they have hurt others.”

Peter promised, “They will hurt, I promise you they will hurt in all the ways they deserve. Now get some sleep, Alpha. You have bites to give tomorrow.”

Chris looked around and he saw his pack were all asleep in various piles around the room and he agreed and finally snuggled down with his mate to sleep.

-x-

Isaac and Stiles got up the next morning before everyone else to cook a big breakfast for the pack as the full moon had been hard on all of them. 

Derek and Cora had been able to rebuild their twin bond with help from the moon but it left them feeling exhausted. Peter was still putting a lot of energy into keeping the burns on his face from healing before he could ‘disappear’ to get them healed and Chris was exhausted after a long night of trying to break through a strong mountain ash barrier.

Stiles was sure if the barrier had been set by a vanilla human that Chris would have broken through it due to his desperation to kill those who had dared to harm his mate. Peter had finally talked him down at around 3 am so the two teens figured 11 am would be a good time for brunch.

The teens had tried to block out Chris’ demands to break the barrier but they all found it hard as they knew what he wanted to do and most of them would have been fine to let him. The research they had done so far into the Argent financials had shown 8 packs that they had targeted over the four year period that they had been ordering the restricted strains of wolfsbane. They were fairly sure there had been others but they could only work with the evidence they had.

Once they had enough evidence to start the investigation Noah was planning to contact a friend of his in the FBI and see if he could put him in touch with someone from the Devereux Taskforce. They dealt with serious supernatural crimes but usually only met with the various supernatural councils. Peter had found the name of the task force in Talia’s council documents.

Isaac was mixing up a new batch of batter for the pancakes and he asked, “So, what was the verdict from all the reading you did last night?”

Stiles half shrugged as he flipped the pancakes carefully, “It looks like a druid has been screwing with the Nemeton. It’s why things seem to be out of balance.”

Issac asked, “How can that affect our parents though? None of them are supernatural, that we know of.”

Stiles pinched the bridge of his nose and he huffed, “That’s what I can’t figure out. The Nemeton shouldn’t but if it's being fucked with by a druid there is no telling what they are doing to it.”

Noah walked in and gave Stiles a slight slap to the back of the head, “Language, kiddo. When we find Laura you should be able to get the name of the druid. I think Talia replaced her old emissary with a druid about a year before the fire since Claudia was no longer around to power the ward that was blocking druids from moving to town.”

Isaac asked, “Why keep the druids out?”

Stiles sighed and he said, “Normally druids are fine, and if the Hale pack had been anywhere else they would have been fine with a druid emissary. But there is a quote by an English Lord, ‘Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.’ If you stick a druid in a territory with a Nemeton most will start to tap into the power of the node and the best way to explain it is that the Nemeton drives them to use that power they have tapped into to gain more power.”

Isaac asked, “And Talia knew that druids were not allowed in the territory?”

Noah nodded, “She had a contract with my wife that she wouldn’t take on a druid as an emissary but she considered the contract ended when my wife died. Stiles was only 10 and just coming into his spark so he was too young to enforce a new contract.”

Stiles rolled his eyes and he snarked, “And the great Talia Hale would never lower herself to accept advice from a human.”

They all turned as they heard Peter laughing. Stiles paled, “Sorry Peter.”

Peter held up a hand and he said, “No, no don’t mind me. You’re not wrong, but not entirely right either. Talia wouldn’t take advice from anybody, human, wolf, or even her emissary, it’s why Serafina left the pack. The emissary and alpha relationship is supposed to be a give and take, both of them working together to keep the territory safe. But Talia had gotten to the point where she gave orders and she refused to accept she could be wrong in her decisions.”

Noah agreed, “Claudia warned me of her epic stubbornness. It’s why she had set up a ward that specifically restricted druids rather than rely on Talia sticking to the contract.”

Stiles pulled a journal out of his pocket and he said, “I read about that ward in here. Why can’t we just set it up again? I am a stronger spark than mom already, I have enough power to feed the ward and I haven’t reached my full potential yet.”

Noah glanced at Peter and he said, “You know more about this stuff, would it work?”

Peter shrugged, “It would depend on the Nemeton, and if he has tried to bond with it.”

Stiles laughed, “The Nemeton is bound to Mom’s family line. So he can bond with it but if I complete my bond with it, then it will cut any faux bond the druid has with it.”

Peter asked with a grin on his face, “And the backlash?”

Stiles grinned evilly and danced out of range of his father before he said, “That all depends on how much he has fucked with it. She is a vengeful Nemeton.”

Chris yawned as he entered the kitchen followed by the rest of the teens. He looked around at all the food that the group had been cooking and preparing and he said, “We are going to need a bigger table.”

Noah and Peter went over their earlier discussions about the Nemeton with the rest of the group while Stiles was reading through his mother's journal to make sure he hadn’t missed anything.

Peter saw Stiles lean back after he was done reading and absently eating and he asked, “So what do you need to complete the bond?”

Stiles shrugged, “I can do it now. Chris has everything I need in the cabinet downstairs I just need Lydia and a wolf or two to come with me.”

Chris muttered, “At least she was useful for something.”

Allison snorted her coffee out her nose as she laughed. “Dad!”

Chris rolled his eyes and he suggested, “Why don’t you take the twins with you while I sort out the pack bites for those who want them.”

Isaac asked in surprise, “You are willing to bite us?”

Chris nodded, “Allison has already asked and I am offering it to anyone who wants it, with the understanding that if you take the bite you are pledging your loyalty to the pack and to protecting Beacon Hills.” He glanced at Peter, “I plan for us to eventually be the new Hale Pack.”

Peter smiled, “You still want to take my name?”

Chris nodded and he said, “It might have been 20 years but my plans haven’t changed.”

Allison said, “As long as I get adopted in the process. I don’t want to be an Argent anymore.”

Chris asked the teens, “Any questions?”

Erica asked, “The bite will definitely cure my epilepsy?”

Peter nodded, “I have seen it cure a severe case of it, they went from having grand mal seizures several times a week to a normal life. We had a doctor we used at Beacon Hills Hospital, Dr. Dowling, who is aware of the supernatural and he can help us with disguising your cure with a diagnosis that you grew out of it with the appropriate medical records to match.”

Erica grinned, “That’s my doctor so I can make an appointment to see him next week.”

Boyd rumbled, “Stiles explained about hunters and wolfsbane are there any other downsides or weaknesses that we should know about?”

Chris suggested, “Avoid mistletoe, it can be fatal if ingested even in small doses. I can’t think of anything else.”

Peter said, “We’ll be training you all in self-defense beyond what Stiles and Cora have already taught some of you. Chris will also be adding eskrima as it can be useful especially in the preserve where sticks are in abundance.”

Noah checked his phone when it beeped and he said, “Whoever wants the bite, choose now. Chris needs to get the bites done before we go down to see our visitor at the station.”

Peter grinned, “She showed up. Excellent.”

Chris led Allison, Isaac, Boyd, Erica, and Jackson through to the living room to do the bites as Stiles laid out his and Jackson’s idea for the challenge. He wanted to get the Nemeton claim done so she couldn’t call on the emissary for help as she fought Peter. 

He suggested to his father, “Why don't you tell her you can take her to see Derek after she is formally interviewed, once we are in place we can text you and you can bring her out to the Hale house ruins. Peter can be waiting there for her with Cora and Derek. I would suggest you give her two options when she shows up, she can give up the alpha spark willingly and still be a member of the pack, from New York, or you force her to yield and she will be forever banished from Beacon Hills if not killed.”

Peter smiled, “She will underestimate me due to the visible burns, and she never knew that there was a good reason why Talia made me her left hand.”

Peter and Noah both agreed with his plan and after a slight hesitation, Derek and Cora added their agreement. They didn’t want their sister to die but they also felt she was not fit to be an alpha.

Peter was in full agreement with Stiles’ plan so he left them to sort out their supplies for their trip to the Nemeton as he went to help Chris with those being bitten. Danny was staying behind with the new wolves to gather up all the evidence they had collected so far into what was legally usable and what would need to be feed carefully to the FBI.

The first clue Noah had that Stiles was successful in bonding to the Nemeton was when he was interrupted during his interview with Laura by a call from one of his Deputies who informed him that the local vet Dr. Deaton was dead. He'd a heart attack in front of Deputy Nero just after he was done treating one of the K9 unit dogs who had sliced a paw open on some glass.

Deputy Nero had immediately started CPR but his heart had taken too much stress and he was pronounced DOA when he arrived at the hospital. 

He saw through the door that Laura had paled when she heard that Dr. Deaton was dead and that confirmed for Noah that Deaton was the former emissary. His phone beeped with a text as he talking with Deputy Nero to let him know that the others were ready for him and Laura.

He stepped back into the interview room and he said, “I think we should suspend the interview there for now. I have been asked to take you to see Derek.”

She nodded mutely and stood to follow him out of the station. He had warned Tara ahead of time that he would be taking Laura out to the house to visit with the Hale’s she left behind before the official interview with her in regards to Derek’s disappearance after the fire.

On the way out to the preserve, Laura accused, “You didn’t sound surprised that Dr. Deaton was dead.”

Noah smirked, “Oh I was. Not that he died but that the druid was Deaton. He certainly nailed hiding in plain sight. You are aware of why he died?”

Laura snarked, “I heard him say it was a heart attack.”

Noah shrugged, “Sure, I guess that’s how it will go down on the autopsy. We both know druids live a long time and that it takes a lot to kill a druid.”

Laura asked snidely, “And you, a human, would know what killed him?”

Noah chuckled, “So disdainful of those who aren’t supernatural. Yes, I know what likely killed him. It was magical backlash, the Nemeton is not forgiving when it is forced to help a druid gain power by dark rituals. Your mother was warned not to take a druid as her emissary.”

Noah pulled up at the house, forestalling any further questions from Laura and he walked across to join the few pack members standing on the ruined porch. Derek was standing, sandwiched between Cora and Stiles as Chris and Peter stood at the top of the stairs with their arms crossed.

As Noah climbed the stairs he murmured, “She’s all yours, Peter.”

Peter nodded once and he descended the stairs, staring at Laura who was glaring defiantly at him, refusing to give an inch.

Peter stood across the clearing from Laura and he intoned, “Laura Hale, I challenge you as a former beta of the Hale Pack, one you callously abandoned to the torture of hunters. You are unworthy of the Hale Alpha Spark, submit, or die.”

Laura sneered and she yelled at her siblings, “Is this what you want, a deranged and scarred alpha?”

The twins looked at each other and they nodded firmly. Derek called back, “You abandoned my twin and snapped our twin bond.” He took a step forward to stand at the top of the stairs with Cora and Stiles holding his hands in support, he screamed, “You told me she died. Uncle Peter is right, you aren’t worthy to be an alpha, you will never again be my alpha.”

Cora added, “Nor mine. You left me to die, as far as I am concerned you are dead to me.”

They turned and with a brief hug from Stiles, they entered the ruins and shut the still intact front door. Stiles smirked and he stood to stand beside his father just behind Chris in support of the new alpha pair.

Peter asked, “So, what’s it going to be Laura? Yield, or die?”

Laura snarled, “You will kill family?”

Peter rolled his eyes, and he asked, “Do you have any idea what I have been through over the last eighteen months? Kate Argent sent a hunter to work for Beacon Hills Hospital, she took over my care personally and spent every single day pumping me full of wolfsbane to keep me in a coma and other drugs apparently for fun and experimentation. The first lesson you were taught was AN ALPHA NEVER ABANDONS THEIR PACK, yet you left two of us behind, vulnerable and able to be found and killed by the hunters. Cora was lucky she found a spark and his friends who were ready and able to protect her, they even made sure she was declared dead in the fire to protect her from being discovered.”

Stiles held his hand up and waved from his position on the porch. “You’re welcome, by the way.”

Laura snarled, “You were the left hand, you should have seen the hunters coming!”

Chris chuckled, “Oh really, that’s how you want to play it. Kate Argent has taken out 8 packs that we know of, they all had strong alphas and strong packs. She knows how to target a pack without being spotted.”

Laura asked snidely, “How would you know.”

Peter smirked, “Maybe I should introduce you to my alpha. This is Alpha Chris Argent, soon to be Chris Hale, Kate’s big brother, and an alpha werewolf.”

Laura shifted and she said, “You brought an alpha werewolf into my territory.”

Peter looked at her pityingly, “Oh sweetheart, you left the territory and the alpha rescued me from the hunter that was trying to kill me. Something you should have done from the start.”

He shifted to his beta shape and he screamed, “DECIDE! Submit or fight, what’s it going to be Laura?”

Laura shifted to her beta shift and overconfident in her abilities she rushed at Peter who sidestepped at the right time, reached out, and grabbed her by the throat before pinning her to the ground. 

He shifted back to his human face and he finally allowed the healing to finish healing the burns on his face as he glared at the impudent pup he had pinned to the ground.

He roared in Laura’s face, “Submit!”

Laura snarled, “You don’t deserve to be alpha. You failed at protecting the pack.”

Derek yelled from the porch, “Give it up, Laura. The only person who didn’t protect us was Mom. She’s the one who sent Peter away after Paige was killed. She’s the one who didn’t even notice that I was being stalked and drugged by one of my coaches. She’s the one that failed our pack. We want an alpha who will care for us, not abandon us when it becomes too hard.”

Laura asked, “What happens to me if I submit and give you my alpha spark?”

Peter replied, “You leave Beacon Hills for good, no longer a Hale wolf. You can keep in touch with the twins if they want it, but I will never forgive you for abandoning me to be tortured by hunters. As long as you find a new pack and stay away from Beacon Hills I will leave you alone.”

“Fine!,” She grasped his wrist as she tried to loosen his grip before she dug her claws in and he felt the spark transfer and the influx of power.

As Chris moved forward to support Peter as he accepted the Hale Alpha spark Stiles and Noah approached Laura.

Stiles crouched in front of her and he said, “I have a magically binding contract for you to sign, one that states you will no longer claim to be a Hale wolf, that you will stay away from Beacon Hills and that you will return all Hale property.”

Subdued, Laura nodded and she stood ready to follow the sheriff to sign the contract and get out of town. She would leave contact details with him for the twins, for if they ever decided to reach out.


	10. Chapter Ten

**September 2006**

Things went well over the next month, the new wolves adjusted well with the Hales teaching them how to control their shifts and how to exhaust their wolf to control excess energy. 

The evidence was passed over to the FBI task force and Noah was expecting them to turn up soon to interview the witnesses. He just hoped the task force hadn’t been infiltrated, there were still a lot of cash withdrawals in the statements that couldn’t be traced to specific people, people more paranoid than the average beat cop.

They had gathered basic evidence from the statements to show bribes and credit card payments to hotels in the same area in the several months before five different house fires where entire families died. Each of the families were packs where the alpha served on the council in some capacity. 

They had only sent the minimum information to the FBI team, evidence that showed that the insurance investigators were bribed in each of the fires, and information that the families were targeted for a reason. They needed to be sure that the agents investigating weren’t on the Argent payroll before presenting the rest of the evidence they had gathered.

Chris and Peter were taking the time to get to know each other again. They had spent twenty years apart after all. They had regular date nights at various restaurants around town and snuggling in the preserve under the guise of supervising training for the pack.

Chris had missed the tactile nature of his mate. He had kept everyone out of arms reach since they were separated and had become quite adverse to being touched by anyone but Peter and occasionally Allison.

-x-

A week after the file had been emailed Tara approached Noah’s office and she announced, “I have SAC Charlie Duthie and Special Agent Bryant Dwyer here to see you, Boss.”

Noah walked out to greet them and once the introductions were done and he confirmed they were from the Devereux Taskforce he said, “The investigation I contact you about is being run offsite. I am happy to take you there.”

SAC Duthie nodded in agreement, “Ok if we follow you there?”

Noah snapped up his cruiser keys and sidearm from his office before he led the agents outside and jumped in the cruiser, he sent off a quick text to Chris before he left to let him know he had two FBI agents inbound.

When they pulled up outside the house Noah explained, “I have to warn you both, you will be questioned before any information is given on the case.”

Agent Dwyer demanded, “Why?”

SAC Duthie put his hand on the younger agent's arm to calm him down, “Sorry, we have been trying to close this case for some time. Every time we think we are close they slip away from us. Whatever you need, we will comply.”

Noah smiled, “Come on then.”

He led them through to the living room where most of the pack was waiting. He introduced the two agents to the group before he sat down next to his son on the sofa. He pointedly left off the pack introductions until the two were trusted by the pack.

Chris asked, “Do you object to a few questions before we start?”

Charlie shot his subordinate a quelling look before he nodded his agreement. He noticed several of the teens in the room sit up and they seemed more focused.

Chris said, “If it’s ok, we'll start with Special Agent Dwyer.” At Charlie's nod of agreement, he asked, “Agent Dwyer, how did you learn about the supernatural?”

Bryant took a deep breath before he said, “My stepmother was a kitsune. She was killed by hunters when I was fifteen, that’s when I met Charlie and learned about the task force.”

Chris nodded, he had been listening carefully for any sign of a lie, “Have you ever taken a bribe to look the other way on a case?”

Bryant looked indignant as he snapped, “Never. I took on this job to protect those who need the protection from zealotry.”

Chris said, “One last question. Do you believe there are times when supernaturals need to be killed?”

Bryant nodded and at Chris' gesture he explained, “There are times when people have been pushed to the point of no return. If they are truly, truely feral there is no other choice, no prison would hold them.”

Chris smiled and he turned to SAC Duthie. “SAC Duthie, how did you learn about the supernatural?”

Charlie let his eyes bleed green and he said, “I am a 438-year-old Mori Kitsune, I founded the task force under my previous identity, Special Agent Walter J. Devereux.”

Stiles gasped, “You were part of the Brady Gang shootout. You were just a Special Agent back then though.”

Charlie nodded, “I was, that shoot out is why the task force was created though. The Brady Gang were actually a rogue werewolf pack which is why they were so hard to capture. I managed to get wolfsbane rounds into a few of the guns being used by the agents which is why the shootout was effective in taking down the ringleaders.”

He looked at Chris and he said, “To answer your other two questions, no I have never taken a bribe and the agents in my command are regularly questioned to ensure they don’t either, and as you can see by your young spark’s comment I will take down feral supernaturals when it's necessary.”

Chris glanced at Peter who stood, he had more experience in dealing with law enforcement agents so they had decided he would be better to lead the discussion.

Peter went around the room introducing the pack teens first before he introduced himself and then the bombshell that his alpha mate and the one questioning them was Chris Argent.

Charlie’s jaw dropped and he stammered, “Aren’t you Kate Argent’s brother?”

Chris nodded, “Yep. From what we can tell my father and sister, with help from my late wife used me to keep the Argent name clean. I had a reputation for only taking on sanctioned hunts when requested to by the Hunter’s Council and only when there was evidence to back up the claims of the person I was hunting being feral.”

Bryant said, “The evidence we were sent hinted that there is more to see. Is it possible to see what else you have gathered?”

Stiles stood and he said, “Follow me, I have set up a crime board in the basement.

Charlie said he would stay and talk to the pack while Bryant checked out the crime board and evidence that had been gathered. Peter, Danny, and Allison accompanied the pair to help with the explanation.

As they descended the stairs Bryant asked, “How many fires do you have evidence on?”

Peter commented, “Five for sure including the Hale fire that took out most of my pack. We suspect another few but we are struggling to find evidence that proves foul play.”

Bryant nodded as he followed the kids into the secret room off the basement. He looked at the large wall in amazement. He saw the note in the middle of the wall and he said, “Wait, you have the motive?”

Stiles shrugged, “It’s the best guess at this stage but all the packs that were targeted had a representative on the alpha council.”

Bryant turned to Allison and he asked, “Can I ask, why are you helping with this investigation?”

Allison grinned with a smile that had too many teeth and she snarled, “Because I am disgusted that those of my blood think that genocide is ok. That they are the judge, jury, and executioners of the supernatural world. My mother was killed by Cameron Kendrick,” She tapped the wall where the Kendrick fire evidence was laid out. “She was directly involved in bribing police dispatchers to ignore the calls to the fire and in having the statutory rape case against my Aunt thrown out as lies. In my opinion, she got exactly what she deserved.”

Bryant took a close look at the Kendrick fire evidence and he mentally linked it to the evidence they had already gathered on the case and he thought the financial records would be what they need to finally get an arrest warrant out on both Kate and Gerard.

He commented, “This is going to create waves. Even in the mundane world. Especially when those who took bribes will be arrested.”

Stiles snarked, “Isn’t that the point. Send a message that hunting without cause has actual consequences. Something hunters have never had to face before because supernaturals fear speaking out in case they are attacked by hunters or worse, the council.”

Bryant asked Allison, “Why didn’t you go to the council with your suspicions?”

She pointed at Stiles, “Stiles made a really good point. They are serial killers that target entire families, that’s bigger than both the alpha council and the hunter council. Peter remembered there was a task force that the alpha council could escalate cases to if they were bigger than what they were equipped to deal with so we thought we would skip the middleman and approach you directly.”

Bryant contemplated the board and he asked, “I have to ask, everything is on paper, why? Most teens I know prefer to keep things digital.”

Danny chuckled, “Digital can be tracked and we suspect the Argent’s have trojans and moles in various law enforcement systems looking for specific keywords to stay one step ahead of any investigations.”

Stiles pointed to one of the lists on the side of the crime board as he explained, “That’s a list of law enforcement people that have received payments from the Argent bank accounts. There are several on there who are FBI, not just agents but support staff as well. It wouldn’t be hard for them to monitor your cases and pass on relevant information.”

Bryant started going down the list and his heart ramped up when he saw several names he recognized. He carefully unpinned the list from the wall and he asked, “Do you have a highlighter?”

Stiles handed one over but before Bryant could start marking names on the list Charlie entered the room and he grabbed the list from the agent as he started to swear, “There are several people on this list that have worked with us on cases that aren’t officially part of our task force.”

Stiles nodded, “We found one of Dad’s deputies on the list too. We suspect that is just the tip of the iceberg of law enforcement they have bribed and coerced into covering up their crimes.”

Allison agreed, “Especially given the number of cash withdrawals that are listed in the bank statements. 

Bryant agreed, “I am surprised to see any law enforcement members using their own bank accounts to receive bribes, to be honest.”

Charlie grinned, “Works for us, it will lead us to the departments that need investigating further. Usually, where there is one there is more.”

Stiles asked, “So how do we help you finish the investigation without Kate being tipped off?” 

Charlie sighed, “We have to assume that anything in the FBI systems is either compromised or known. You have a lot here that we didn’t know before, especially with the bribes and her preying on minors. So I would suggest we continue what you have here, keep it offline and we can give you the names we are sure are connected with her.”

Bryant suggested, “It would be good to trace her movements and maybe look for events rather than looking for events and seeing if she was there at the time. We have a couple of team members we can bring in to build a timeline for us to start with.”

Charlie asked, “Are you thinking Spires and Darcy?”

Bryant nodded, “They are good at grinding through the data to find the important info. We could build a timeline for each of the Argents on the opposite wall if we move the beds. Maybe we could talk to Townsend about training Stiles while we are here.”

Stiles asked suspiciously, “Train how?”

Charlie smiled, “He’s a spark, the only magic user we have on the team. He hasn’t met many sparks, and never one as young as you, Stiles.”

Stiles agreed, “If the adults all agree with him entering the territory then I am fine with it. It would be good to ask an actual spark rather than relying on what’s in mom’s books and journals.”

Allison asked, “Why don’t you have other magic users?”

Charlie blushed, “I don’t trust druids and every other spark I have met has been bound to a pack. Even Townsend is bound to our unit as a makeshift pack.” 

Peter suggested, “Why don’t you have the rest of your team feeding decoy information to the agents we know are on the Argent’s payroll?”

Allison snarked, “Not that they can pay them anymore. Dad cut off their access to the bank accounts and their credit cards won’t allow cash withdrawals.”

Charlie put two and two together and he asked, “You plan for them to find you? To be bait?”

Allison smirked and she inspected her very sharp claws as she said nonchalantly, “Eventually. We hope that whispers of the investigation will distract them from their latest target. Either way, they’ll face the legal system or pack justice.”

Charlie nodded, “Let me go chat with your alpha and get his approval to use his panic room for the investigation. It’s unorthodox but with how deeply embedded the Argent’s are, it's going to take unorthodox methods to bring them down. I may also bring in my Section Chief to brief him on the investigation.”

Peter took Charlie back upstairs to chat with the rest of the pack as Allison and Stiles continued taking Bryant through what they had found so far.”

It was eventually decided with input from Noah that the house two doors down, which was currently available for rent, would be rented by the Hales and the FBI agents would work between the two houses to take over the investigation the pack had already started. The timeline was in progress on the wall for all three Argents and it wasn’t painting a pretty picture. It looked like they had been active a lot longer than expected but the first few packs they attacked were smaller more remote packs in Canada. They would be passing the details to the Canadian authorities so they could check for bribery and accomplices in each of the attacks. 

They did find some good news in all the mess. There was evidence that not all of the attacks were successful and the task force was quietly reaching out to those packs to get witness statements for the case. 

They were almost ready to bait the trap to bring the Argents to Beacon Hills. Just a few loose ends to clean up before they would file the warrants with a judge known to be incorruptible.  



	11. Chapter Eleven

**September 2006**

Derek was sitting in History, which meant he was staring aimlessly out the window as the teacher repeated what he had learned last semester in New York. He noticed Allison out in the car park heading for her car, he figured she must have accidentally left something in her car.

He sat up as he saw a blonde approach from the far side of her car and he saw Allison stiffen in shock. He tried to stretch his hearing but she was too far away to be overheard. He stood with a shout as an older man moved behind Allison and stuck a syringe in her neck.

The teacher yelled at him to sit down but Derek ignored them and he called Noah.

“Sheriff!”, he yelled, “Kate and an old man just took Allison from the school parking lot.”

Derek saw a van barrel out of the parking lot and he quickly wrote the plate down before he passed the information to the sheriff.

He could hear Noah barking out orders as he left the building, he was sending the deputies out to find the van and hopefully Allison as he took Tara and they were heading to the school. Once he was in the car Noah asked, “Can you send a pack alert out to everyone but Allison. We don’t want Kate realizing she’s a wolf.” 

Derek paled at the thought. He knew from their research that Kate was ruthless and she wouldn’t care about the fact that Allison was her niece if she was a wolf she was as good as dead in Kate’s eyes. He confirmed, “I am on it, I can see Stiles and Boyd outside the classroom already, we'll wait for you at the main doors. Are you going to let the FBI know?”

“Tara is already contacting Charlie.” Noah replied, “They’ve moved quicker than we expected which is something Charlie will have to investigate. Stay with the pack, stay together at all times.”

Derek agreed and he hung up. The teacher who had overheard motioned for him to leave the room with him and when Derek joined Stiles and Boyd in the hallway with his bag the teacher demanded to know, “What’s going on?”

Stiles explained, “Allison’s Aunt and Grandfather are currently wanted by the FBI for serial murders and we all saw Kate kidnap Allison. Boyd and I were in math two classrooms down.” 

The teacher nodded in acceptance, “Ok. I’ll let the teachers know that you’ll be busy for the rest of the day. Good luck.”

They all yelled their thanks as they took off for the main doors.

Derek and Boyd approached the spot she was taken from. Boyd asked, “Anything?”

Derek shook his head, he was grateful his best friends had switched schools when he decided to go to Beacon Hills High with his sister, “No, but that’s not a bad thing, it means they haven’t used wolfsbane in the syringe.”

Boyd rumbled, “Whatever it was had to be strong to knock her out.”

Derek looked over and saw everyone else congregated on the steps with Noah, Chris, and Peter. “Let’s go see if they have an update.”

Noah was on his phone when they walked over. “Fuck, ok, send forensics in to get prints from the van. We need confirmation of who took her.”

Noah hung up and he said for the benefit of the humans in the group and the two who just joined them, “They ditched the van a few blocks away. Danny have you had any luck tracking her?”

Danny shook his head, “No Sir. It looks like the phone is still in the van over on 4th and the tracker is in her bag, which is in her locker.”

Peter pulled Chris into a hug and murmured, “She will be fine, she has the best control of all of them and she will keep her wolf hidden.”

Charlie spoke up from where he was standing with Bryant near the group, “Let’s go back to the house to regroup.”

Chris said, “Sounds good, we’ll just go get the kids signed out for the day and we’ll meet you there.”

Charlie sent Bryant with the Sheriff to help coordinate the search and to send out the amber alert.

When Chris and Peter finally arrived back at the house Charlie pulled them aside and he said, “Word that Laura Hale is no longer the Hale Alpha has reached the Hunter’s Council. We were notified by our contact on the council and it’s entirely likely that the same information has made it to Gerard and Kate.”

Chris frowned and he asked, “So why take Allison?”

Charlie shrugged, “Honestly, I think it was opportunistic. We know Kate’s usual MO is to set up at the local school to groom a beta. Agent Townsend is taking one of Noah’s deputies to Devonford Prep to see if she visited this morning.”

Peter scowled, “So you think it was just bad timing?”

Charlie nodded, “Unfortunately, yes. Look, you’ve both trained her well, hopefully, they'll underestimate her and she can escape or at least give us some sign of where she is.”

Peter asked, “Do they have any bolt holes in Beacon County?”

Chris shrugged, “They kept me out of the hunting thing but I have a list of our property holdings that I haven’t had a chance to go through yet.”

He went to the file cabinet and pulled out a folder he had received from his lawyer before the move. He took half the papers and passed them to Peter, “See if you can find anything nearby and we can check them out.”

Charlie raised an eyebrow, “That’s all in the Argent name?”

Chris shook his head, “No, some are under the business and some are under various shell companies.”

He and Peter both put a few papers into a pile between them.

Chris looked through the different properties they had close to or in Beacon Hills. He placed two in the middle of the table side by side as he said, “I completely forgot about the armory.” He tapped on the sheet on the left as he said, “I think they would have taken her there, which could be a problem. The walls are lined with mountain ash.”

Charlie picked up the sheet and he asked, “Where is it exactly?”

Chris grinned, “Technically, that’s the details for the land above it, which is an empty lot, the armory itself is off one of the underground tunnels under Beacon Hills. The entrance is accessed from another property we own,” He tapped the sheet still sitting on the table which contained the details for the small house on the edge of the preserve. “There is a manhole in the basement that leads to the tunnels.”

Charlie asked, “Stiles? Can you nullify the mountain ash in the walls?”

Stiles walked over and he asked, “How is it in the walls? Painted on or part of the masonry?”

Chris concentrated as he hadn’t been there in years and he said, “I think it was painted on the skirting boards laid around the room itself. I know the ash line only works when the door is closed.”

Peter smirked, “He was able to sneak me in there ok.”

Jackson approached the group and he asked, “Is there just one entrance to the armory? Do you have any blueprints for the tunnels?”

Chris shook his head, “I don’t, but the Sheriff department probably will as people often get lost exploring down in the tunnels.”  
  
Charlie called Noah who confirmed he had copies of the tunnel maps and he was sent a deputy over with them. 

Jackson asked, “Alpha, are there multiple entrances to the armory?”

Chris nodded hesitantly, “I think so. I know the tunnels are like a rabbit warren, they branch out under the whole town.”

Peter grinned, “The tunnels were originally built by my pack as a way to keep us safe.” His expression darkened, “Until they were used to trap us in the basement of the house as it burned.”

Chris pulled Peter in for a hug as he whispered, “We’ll stop them this time. If the legal system doesn’t stop them, we will.”

Peter pulled him out of the room, “Let’s go wait for the deputy, the sooner we have the maps the sooner we can plan.”

Charlie picked up the other datasheets from the table and he asked, “Who is confident they can scope out a house without being spotted by the hunters?”

Isaac, Boyd, Erica, and Cora all raised their hands. Charlie considered them all carefully and he said, “There are two other houses on the list that need to be checked. I want you to approach and see if any of the houses are being used.”

Erika raised her hand and at a chuckle from Charlie she asked, “Do you want us to get photos of anyone in the houses?”

Charlie held up a finger and he said, “Hold that thought,” as he answered his phone, “Duthie.”

The teens watched the short phone call as his eyes lit up in anger. He hung up the phone and he snarled, “Derek, she’s looking for you. She went to Devonford Prep and she was asking if you had returned to the school. On a hunch, they went to Beacon Hills High and asked there and she had visited the office to see if you had transferred in. It’s a good thing you’re registered under Derek Lowell.”

Derek slumped into the sofa and he said, “She must have seen Allison as she was leaving the school. I noticed Allison out the window as she reached her car but I didn’t notice Kate until she grabbed Allison.”

Charlie narrowed his eyes at Derek and he said plainly, “Whatever you’re thinking, stop it. This is in no way your fault. We knew they would head to town. They just happened to arrive earlier than expected.”

He turned to the four wolves who volunteered, he handed them the two property sheets and he said, “Can you go grab camera’s from Agent Townsend and scope out the houses. If you see anyone take photos so we can try to identify them. Try and get a count for how many are at the houses and then head back here.”

Cora saluted and led the other three out the door down to the house the FBI were working from. 

Derek watched them go before he said earnestly, “If she is fixated on me, then use me as bait. She might visit the diner I used to spend time at when I needed quiet to do my homework, so let her find me there.”

Stiles scowled and he yelled, “Hell no. They already have Allison, we aren’t giving them more hostages.”

The alphas entered the room with a few cardboard cylinders and Peter asked, “What are you yelling about, Stiles?”

Stiles snarled, “Your nephew wants to play bait.”

Derek hurriedly said, “Think about it logically. She will think I am still a naive kid and she will underestimate me. I am sure Stiles can create something to protect me from wolfsbane bullets and the FBI agents will be around to follow her if she kidnaps me.”

Peter growled, “Only as a last resort. I have lost enough family, I’m not putting you or Cora at risk. If Cora was here she would knock you flat for that. You know damn well ”

Chris laid out the tunnel maps and brandishing a highlighter he stole from Stiles’ pile he said, “The deputy confirmed these are copies so we can mark them up.”

He carefully marked the armory and the tunnel they used as the main entrance. Peter stole a second highlighter and he added estimations for tunnels that were never put on the city plans. He had a fair idea where most of them were from exploring them all as a child.

Jackson pointed at one of the tunnels Peter had added and he asked, “Is that from the school? How do we access it?”

“From the locker rooms,” Peter explained, “There is a vault under the school that’s been there since the Hale’s settled in the area.” He flicked out his claws and he said, “It’s only accessible by those in the Hale Pack via their claws.”

Jackson asked, “Can someone mark known entrances to the tunnels on a street map, and then Peter can you mark the ones only the pack know about?”

Stiles and Peter nodded and they got to work with pens marking the various entrances. As they were marking the map Cora entered with the other beta’s and she handed the cameras to Charlie and Chris. She reported, “They have a few hunters at the second house we tried, we got their photos and made sure we weren’t spotted.”

Stiles held his hand out for the sheet with the info of the property the hunters were seen at so he could mark it down on the map. He knew their priority was getting Allison out alive before they went in to take down Kate and Gerard and the hunters following their orders.

Jackson studied the map and the tunnels before he outlaid a plan for Chris, Peter, and Charlie. It involved the pack going in for recon and recovery of Allison with help from Stiles to keep them hidden. The pack would enter via the vault under the school and they would make their way across to the armory via tunnels that were not listed on the city plans. They would be able to avoid the main entrance to the armory and they were hopeful they could sneak in the back door.

Charlie commented to Chris, “I need to call in reinforcements, especially if they have hunters guarding the tunnels. My team isn’t big enough and the deputies won’t be trained in dealing with hunters who will shoot first.”

Jackson suggested, “Technically they are a paramilitary organization. Why not use that to call in backup? The first hunter who claims they are hunting werewolves or monsters is going to get thrown into Eichen House on a psych hold so fast.”

Chris agreed, “You should be able to book them for the kidnap of a minor to start with. Also, talk to my lawyers back in DC. I know they were filing restraining orders for us once Kate and Gerard could be found and notified.”

Charlie grinned, “If we can get them under domestic terrorist rules we should be able to hold them indefinitely while we investigate further. I need to call my section chief to request backup, I’ll see what he says about having them labeled as domestic terrorists.”

Charlie left the house to make the call to his section chief and to brief his team as to what is going on. He also called Noah to let him know they had an idea where Allison would be and they planned a two-pronged attack to take out the Argent hunters.

Noah promised to head over with the more experienced of his deputies while they waited on the reinforcements to arrive from Sacramento.

Jackson was busy inside with Stiles as they debated where the hunters would likely be stationed as guards with input from Chris and Peter. 

Derek was working quietly to get the rest of the pack ready for the assault on the armory. Chris had been building up a smaller armory for the pack in the basement, complete with body armor that is usually sold to law enforcement that Stiles had been working on so they were more resistant to bullets and knives. He knew Charlie would want them gone from the house before reinforcements showed up.

Chris went through the pack checking they were geared up, armed with at least two knives and the ones who were proficient had their guns ready and spare clips in their pockets. He and Noah were staying back with Charlie at the sheriff’s station where the raid would be managed. Because his family was involved he couldn’t be part of either of the raiding parties. Danny had set each of the pack members up with hidden trackers and they were hooked into a private communications network that he and Lydia would be monitoring from the secret basement room. They had promised the pack they would stay locked in the panic room until Kate and Gerard were arrested. 

The rest of the teens and Peter loaded up into the two SUV’s that were parked in the garage, everyone was wearing Beacon High Lacrosse jerseys over their vests so anyone watching would think they were going to practice Lacrosse at the school. They had a few gear bags in the trunk just in case anyone was watching the school.

Peter led them into the locker room and he found the back entrance to the vault and opened it quickly so they could all tumble in. As soon as they were inside they dumped the gear bags on the floor by the door and they all dropped their jerseys on top. Peter let Lydia and Danny know they were in the vault and ready to move in on the armory. 


	12. Chapter Twelve

**September 2006**

Danny had a direct link to Charlie and he was keeping them updated on the status of the FBI raid as they made their way through the tunnels under the town. Chris had given them a few dart guns loaded with kanima venom he had found on the black market. Stiles and Peter used them on the few hunters they encountered that were roaming the tunnels. They made sure to get the hunters before they were spotted, as they didn’t want random gunfire giving the hunters any hint they were already on their way. 

Once the hunters were paralyzed, they were bound and gagged with tape so they couldn’t notify Kate or Gerard that the pack was coming and Danny made a note of their coordinates on the map so they could be picked up after the raid.

They finally reached the back door and the wolves all stretched their hearing to see if they could hear what was going on in the armory.

They could hear Kate ranting to Allison about her father betraying the family and how they would train her in the family business so she could make them proud. Allison was muttering sub vocally that her father was already proud of her.

Peter could hear her approaching the door they were hiding behind so he whispered, “Allison if you can hear this, knock quietly on the wall.”

They waited with bated breath as Allison approached the door and knocked quietly while Kate was still ranting on the other side of the armory. Peter grinned and he said, “One for yes, two for no, can you open the doors?”

They heard two quiet knocks and Stiles quietly approached the door. Peter whispered, “Can anyone see you where you are standing?”

They groaned when she knocked once. Stiles got to work on unlocking the door with a burst of magic to keep it quiet and he whispered, “The second they are out of sight knock repeatedly.”

He asked, “Peter can you tell where she is standing?”

Peter grinned, “Exactly where she needs to be for you to grab her as soon as you get the door open. As soon as we get her out Danny will notify Charlie so they can head in.”

They listened as Danny passed on the movements of the FBI teams as they made their way through the tunnels. All of a sudden there was a gasp and then a rapid series of knocks on the wall. Stiles opened the door and he and Isaac yanked Allison through just as Gerard walked around the end of the shelves Allison was sheltered behind. 

Gerard was quick to open fire when he saw the group behind Allison and things escalated quickly. Peter was screaming into his comms that shots were fired and a few of the pack were hit. Stiles was pulled back by Derek as soon as he heard the cocking of the gun as Boyd slammed the door shut and he and Jackson braced themselves on the door to prevent it from opening again. 

Peter and Cora dragged Allison and Isaac down the hallway and Peter called out, “Was anyone else hit?”

Jackson replied, “Me, it’s just a graze though.”

Peter gave Danny a status report so Charlie would know to seize the gun Gerard was using so they could burn out the wolfsbane from the gunshot wounds on the two betas. He checked out Jackson’s graze and it would be easily burnt out without the wolfsbane ash. 

Derek had pulled out the emergency kit he was carrying in his backpack and he worked on dressing the wounds on Allison’s shoulder and Isaac’s stomach so the pair could be moved back through the tunnels. 

Derek had just finished taping up the gauze pad on Isaac when he heard footsteps coming and he stood to face the tunnel. Peter asked Danny if they should be expecting company, he checked with Charlie and he confirmed their team was coming from the opposite direction.

Stiles moved to the head of the pack and he stood guard with his guns out. He had been well trained by his father when his spark manifested. Claudia had warned him that he would be a target for rogue magic users wanting to drain his magic.

Peter moved to the other end of the pack and he stood guard with the guns Chris had given him, Erica stood in the middle over her injured pack mates with Allison’s crossbow at the ready while Derek monitored Isaac and Allison to make sure their wounds weren’t getting worse.

-x-

As soon as Charlie had the word that Allison was out of the armory he and Noah sent their teams into the four tunnel entrances they had chosen. They were in full riot suits as they were prepared for the hunters to be armed and willing to shoot first ask questions never.

When he heard two of the betas were shot he sent out the word to his agents that Gerard’s gun must be seized so the betas could have the right strain of wolfsbane burnt out of the wounds.

Team Three hit the house where the hunters seemed to be based, which thankfully only had three hunters in residence. They were able to hit hard and fast to get the hunters arrested and cuffed in a prisoner transport van before they could radio for help.

Once they had the house secure they left two deputies behind to guard the house as the FBI agents waited by the tunnel entrance a block away from the house.

Team Four did a drive-by past the other possible house being used, but they found it just as empty as the betas had found it earlier in the day so they made their way to the second tunnel entrance to wait for the command to enter.

The first two teams were waiting by the main entrance Chris had shown them and they were fully prepared for an ambush. 

As soon as Peter sent word that they had Allison out of the armory, all four teams converged on the tunnels. Team four was tasked with finding the pack teens and providing cover as they evacuated the injured betas as they were the closest, the other three teams were all heading for the armory with the order to detain as many of the hunters as possible.

As with all missions where they were facing domestic terrorists their main order was ‘if fired upon, don’t hold back.’ The FBI agents who were part of the taskforce were aware that hunters were like religious zealots. They believed it was their right to kill creatures, that there was no such thing as an innocent beast. Anyone helping them were traitors to their humanity and had to be put down like the beasts they consorted with.

They encountered a lot more hunters in the tunnels than they predicted and the two team leads made sure to let Charlie know they would need additional ambulances and prisoner transport wagons with the numbers they were facing. SSA Spires suggested bringing in a bus from one of the nearby prisons as they had already incapacitated twenty hunters and they were not yet at the armory.

They had a couple of deputies working behind the FBI teams once the hunters were cuffed to tag them with trackers and take their photos so a start could be made on identifying each hunter and what families they were from. Chris knew with the numbers that were being detained that the hunter’s council were going to take a huge hit. Especially since he had recognized hunters from a few major families like the Calavera and Moffett families.  
  
By the time they reached the armory doors they had encountered nearly 35 hunters, all of whom were incapacitated or killed and the deputies were slowly dragging them outside.

At the opposite end of the armory, Stiles and Peter were standing on either end of the group with their guns ready to face whoever walked around the corner while Boyd and Jackson kept the door braced as there were hunters on the other side trying to force it open. They heard the banging on the door stop as the gunfire from the other tunnels was getting louder. 

Derek moved behind Stiles and he hissed, “Eyes up Stiles, they’re just around the corner. Five heartbeats, don’t hold back, Gerard is with them.”

Stiles whispered, “Can Isaac be moved yet?”

Derek shook his head, “No, Cora is putting pressure on the wound but if she lets go without him healing he will bleed out.”

Stiles snarled, “Fuck, ok, let me know when they start moving again.”

They heard Gerard chuckle from around the corner as four hunters came around the corner with their rifles raised in a coordinated move with Gerard standing behind them looking calm as he stood tall and imposing. 

Stiles screamed, “Coward! At least face us like a man instead of hiding behind your sycophants.”

Gerard smirked and he said, “Now why would I want to do that." He examined the group in front of him and his gaze centered on Peter, "Mr. Hale, it’s a… pleasure to see you again. Where have you stashed my wayward son? I expected him to be here to help free his beast of a daughter.”

Peter shrugged dismissively from beside Stiles and he snarked, “I am sure he is around here somewhere just waiting with bated breath for the family reunion.”

Gerard snarled, “He’s been giving away all the family secrets, it’s the only way monsters like you would know how to find the armory.”

Peter laughed, “Oh you poor delusional hunter. Christopher used to bring me here all the time when we were dating, you know before you threatened to kill me for daring to kiss your darling son.”

Stiles muttered, “Bet that’s not all you did to Chris if the stories dad was telling me were anything to go by.”

Peter smirked, “The shelves were the perfect height for, well…”

Erica grinned from her place on the other side of Stiles and she snarked, “Super sexy fun times?”

Peter smiled softly and he said, “Exactly that.”

Gerard snarled, “Enough! Move away from the door.”

Stiles glanced at the door then back at Gerard and with a feral grin on his face, he asked, “Or what? You’ll shoot us? Shoot me, the human son of the Sheriff?”

Gerard shrugged nonchalantly, “If I have to.”

Stiles struck out fast with quick double taps taking out the four hunters guarding Gerard, “Now what’s your plan old man? If you reach for a weapon you will be next.”

Peter murmured almost subvocally to Erica, “If they move, shoot them.” 

Derek called out in a panic “I need his gun, Stiles. Now!”

Stiles glared at Gerard and he ordered, “Throw your gun across, now. Or I can just shoot you dead and take it from your cold dead fingers. It’s your choice.”

Peter caught the weapon as it slid across the floor from a grudging Gerard and he passed it back to Derek. Allison talked him through unloading the bullets and how to break them open to get to the ash inside, Cora was trying to dig out the bullet from Isaac’s stomach while Derek was fishing around in his med kit for the lighter he had stashed away for emergencies. 

Stiles called out, “Derek, wait! That’s not the gun he shot at us with.” He saw the flash of anger on Gerard’s face and he demanded, “Where is it? WHERE!”

Gerard refused to answer so Stiles shot through his right kneecap, when he went down Stiles stalked toward the hunter. “You are about to cost us two pack members, one of them your own granddaughter, so spill old man, where is the gun you shot at us with.”

Gerard was looking back at him resolute in his desire to kill the betas by not saying a word and so Stiles called out, “Allison, what shoulder did he hit?”

A little confused she called back, “My left shoulder, right in the joint.”

Stiles called out cheerfully, “Thanks Ally,” as he lifted his gun to aim at Gerard’s shoulder and he said, “After this, I guess we’ll replicate Isaac’s gutshot. You’ll live, but I am not sure the FBI will bother giving you the extra surgeries you’ll need to leave you pain-free.”

Gerard was still refusing to answer so Stiles moved his gun closer and shot directly into the shoulder joint, he then called out, “Peter, can you strip the hunters of all their weapons, hopefully, he just traded with one of the others in his party.” 

Stiles grinned at the flash of rage on Gerard’s face as Peter moved forward to do his bidding. Peter grinned and he called out, “They have Kate in custody and they are on their way here to pick up Gerard.” He was throwing guns back toward the teens when Stiles said, “Derek, grab the one Peter just threw, the Glock-22. It’s the gun he was using earlier and judging by the rage on his face it’s the weapon that will save Isaac.”

Erica moved to grab the right gun and Allison talked Derek through unloading it, same as she did for the weapon Gerard threw earlier. Derek was quick to burn the wolfsbane using a flat of metal he also had stored in the first aid kit to hold the wolfsbane as he set the lighter to it.

Stiles tuned out the noise as Derek got to work curing the wolfsbane poisoning in the other betas and he pulled handcuffs out of his pocket and he asked, “Peter? Can you cuff him? The FBI should be here to pick him up soon right?”

Peter nodded as he took the cuffs from Stiles. “Danny said they are just confirming the armory is completely clear before they head through the door to help us.”

Gerard muttered from the floor, “You think you will find all of us?”

Stiles shrugged, “We have you and Kate to set an example to others of just what will happen to those who go after peaceful creatures. Do you think we are giving you to the hunter’s council?”

Peter chuckled darkly, “Oh no, we went to the FBI, you have far too many friends on the hunter’s council who would just disregard any report of you attacking innocent packs. The FBI already has enough evidence and they’re charging you both under domestic terrorist laws. They are going to bury you in a hole so deep your friends will never find you.”

Peter turned to check on the pack and he found Isaac and Allison sitting up against the wall as they were slowly healing now that the wolfsbane was out of their system. Jackson and Boyd were still braced against the door. At a signal from Danny he said, “Boyd, Jackson, you can open the door now. Charlie is waiting on the other side.”

They all breathed a sigh of relief as Charlie and some of his agents came through the door. Charlie called for a gurney so they could get Gerard medical attention. 

Gerard snarled, “I will make sure you are prosecuted for the torture you little shit.”

Peter asked innocently, “What torture? You were hit in the crossfire after you ordered your hunters to shoot us.”

They all smirked and breathed in relief at their survival. As Gerard was carried out of the tunnels by some well-guarded paramedics he screamed in rage and promised vengeance.


	13. Epilogue

**January 2011**

Chris and Peter sat watching their pack celebrating the New Year as they were thinking back over the changes of the last five years. Their pups were all dancing their hearts out in the middle of the backyard of the new(ish) Hale house, with the music up loud. As soon as the arrests were completed and the area was safe again Peter had the old house demolished and he commissioned a Kitsune friend of his to design a new pack house for the large pack he and Chris were planning to build with the kids. 

Chris smiled when he thought back to his father and sister. Gerard and Kate and their murderous band of thugs had been found guilty of 15 fires across the USA. They had been attacking packs with prominent alphas trying to destabilize the Alpha Council. They were both sentenced to life without parole, Gerard was sent to ADX Florence Supermax in Colorado where he died only six months ago from cancer. Kate was sent to Central California Woman’s Facility in Madera County, California. If they ever get released from prison there are formal extradition applications from Canada, France, Germany, and Poland for another eight pack annihilations.

There was a ripple effect when the bribes were uncovered and there were many members of numerous police departments and federal agencies who had been taking bribes from the Argent’s to keep the investigators away from the truth. Noah had been gutted to find out that two of his deputies were in that number. Deputy Dennis Haigh had been found to be taking bribes from not just the Argents but from the local drug dealers to keep them from being discovered. The other Deputy had resigned not long after the fire, former Deputy Matt Thompson claimed had only taken the bribe in a weak moment when his wife's medical bills were getting on top of them. The two officers in Seattle that contributed to Cameron’s little brother's suicide, after they blatantly denied his case of statutory rape, all went to prison for involuntary manslaughter. It sent a clear message to hunters around the world.

After the Argent actions had come out in the supernatural community, especially the level of corruption across the Hunter’s Council and the various law enforcement agencies in Gerard’s efforts to destabilize the Alpha Council, the various supernatural councils got together and they eventually came to the conclusion that the secrecy between their groups was not doing them any favors. They created The Council which had representatives from all of the main types of supernatural entities as well as magic users and hunters. They cleaned up the system and made clear processes for reporting issues and created a team for investigating the issues and deciding what could be dealt with internally and what would be passed on to Charlies team. The council met a few times a year mostly via video conference to discuss major issues affecting groups around the world.

Chris and Peter were both invited to serve on The Council and they were joined by Stiles when he turned 18 as one of the last surviving sparks of the Gajos family. His aunt Regina also served on the council and she took him on as an apprentice to get the rest of his training completed. She was impressed at how strong he was and how far through his studies he had gone with just using his mother's journals for guidance. They were joined by Connor from Falls Church as one of the alphas as he was well respected and known to be in law enforcement.

One of the last acts of the old Hunter’s Council, once the corrupt members were removed, was to impose sanctions on the Owens family for breaking the treaty and refusing aid to the Kendrick Pack after they were attacked. Chris made sure they were made aware of the fallout from their actions and the packs that were taken out by their inaction and refusal to help or notify the hunter’s council. They were magically bound to notify all packs they had an alliance with of their actions toward the Kenrick pack and any new allies had to be notified of how they refused aid to the pack before anything could legally be signed. Their matriarch was forced to stand down for her actions and she was replaced with her daughter who promised she would enforce the code.

The pack in Texas who had the wolfsbane supply business was sanctioned and had to get all sales approved by a member of The Council for a period of no less than ten years. Their computers and stock levels were all magically monitored to make sure no sales occurred outside of the process put in place. The alpha who had allowed the sales of restricted wolfsbane to the hunters around the country was one of the first to be jailed in the supermax prison for five years and they were forced to pass the alpha spark on to a member of their pack that passed the stringent background checks and questioning by the FBI task force.

Stiles with help from his aunt developed a ward so the Nemeton could be protected from Darachs, especially those wanting to use the power for themselves rather than in the protection of their territory. It would be powered directly from the power of the Nemeton rather than the spark so it would last long after the spark had died. They were able to do this for all the Nemeta around the world. When Regina was introduced to the Nemeton she recoiled at the darkness she could feel within it and she led Stiles through giving it a thorough cleansing.

They were able to capture the firefly that flew out as the tree grew back to immense proportions and it was imprisoned properly by a Kitsune sect in Japan once Regina dropped it off. 

Chris looked down at his hands and he felt the titanium ring, heavy on his finger. He and Peter married not long after Gerard and Kate were jailed with Chris proudly taking the Hale name and letting the Argent name fade into obscurity, to that end Allison had been given adoption papers by Peter on her 17th birthday and she officially became a Hale.

Peter grinned as he interlinked his fingers with Chris’ and they looked around the room at the various couples in the group, their daughter Allison was happy with Lydia. They were both attending MIT and would be home permanently in a few years, Allison was doing a dual degree program, both an MBA and a Computer Science masters, she was planning to take over the investment portfolio of Argent Enterprises when she returned. Lydia was working on dual PhDs in Math and Engineering and she was pushing to finish with Allison so they could return to Beacon Hills together.

When Jackson and Lydia broke up they had been worried about Jackson going off the rails but Stiles helped him admit to himself that he was more attracted to his best friend than he wanted to admit and since then he and Danny had been going strong. Danny was with the girls at MIT doing a computer Science Ph.D. while Jackson was studying at Harvard across town. He spent his summers interning for Peter and Ralph at their law firm in Beacon Hills.

Stiles and Derek had been pretty much glued to each other's sides since the fight in the tunnels but they waited until their senior year before they started officially dating. Derek was determined to follow the old courting protocols for their first year of dating which concluded with them moving in together when they moved to DC for college. They were both attending GWU with the intention of eventually joining Charlie’s ever-expanding task force teams in the FBI once they had their master's degrees. Stiles was doing dual master's degrees in Criminal Justice and Law while Derek was doing a dual master's in Criminal Justice and Psychology.

Erica sat down beside her alphas and she asked, “What’s up Big Bads?”

Chris snuggled into Peter’s side as Peter grinned and he said, “Just mulling over the changes since Chris came back into my life. How’s the workshop going?”

Erica grinned, “It’s great, we took on a new mechanic last month. Tucker Cornish, he went to school with Isaac’s brother Camden. We are slowly becoming the most popular mechanics workshop in Beacon Hills.”

Peter snarked, “Putting it beside your cafe was a smart move. It gives Boyd’s clients somewhere to wait and you get a lot of the early morning industrial coffee crowd coming through.”

Erica smiled, “Deputies too. We see Isaac and Cora when they are doing their morning patrols. Noah too sometimes, although I know he goes to the coffee shop across town most of the time as they won’t report what he orders to Stiles. We are talking to Danny and Allison about building us an app so people can preorder their coffee so it’s ready when they arrive.”

Peter was proud of his niece, she had gone local for college not wanting to leave the area. She and Isaac ended up joining the Sheriff’s department together and they were often assigned cases that had a supernatural angle.

  
Charlie, Bryant, Townsend, and a few of the other FBI agents who assisted in the tunnels had joined them, as per usual, for the yearly New Years' party with the pack. The parties were getting bigger every year, with new additions from neighboring packs they had built alliances with, as well as others in law enforcement who either were supernatural, or human, but aware, like Bryant. 

The FBI team was often joined by Connor and Jaden from Falls Church who had grown close to the pack after the arrests of Gerard and Kate were made public. Connor was quick to reach out to Chris once he discovered that Chris had been turned and was now leading the Hale Pack of Beacon Hills with his mate Peter. Charlie often invited them to catch their flight to Sacramento whenever there was a large pack celebration.

Charlie's team was still going strong, it was expanding and working in conjunction with The Council to keep the supernatural hidden but to ensure those who could be held accountable would be. They worked with the warden at the supermax prison in Colorado to ward one of the buildings so it could safely hold supernatural creatures who were convicted of serious crimes without having to use places like Eichen House. They were currently investigating Eichen House and others like it in the hope they could shut down the creature experiments being done by shady government agents like the CIA.

The team's reputation was growing and they were starting to be assigned more of the paramilitary and domestic terrorism cases as the teams had a knack for solving them with low casualties. Only Charlie's section chief, the local Deputy Director, and the Director of the FBI were aware of the exact nature of those in the teams.

Chris leaned over and he said to Charlie, "I hear congratulations are in order. Someone mentioned you were prompted to Deputy Director last week."

Charlie agreed, "Bryant and Townsend were both promoted as well and given their own teams. Bryant is going to be working out of DC and Townsend from Sacramento. He is hoping to snag Stiles and Derek when they graduate."

Chris grinned, "That's great, I know Stiles is keen to get stuck into investigations with his penchant for solving puzzles. Are you still getting thrown at the non-supernatural cases?"

Charlie nodded, "Yeah, we have worked to hide the supernatural as domestic terrorism so we now have a good reputation for closing the cases and doing it with limited casualties which is great. The team who used to take those cases often had a high rate of injury and a high turnover of agents wanting to leave due to a lack of safety."

Bryant agreed, "We have taken on a few of them and hope to bring them into the whole supernatural aspect once they have proven themselves on the human cases."

Peter snarked, "That shouldn't take you long to nut them out, Bryant. We know you have a nose for sniffing out the ones who would take it the wrong way or would want to out the secret."

Townsend grumped, "He has great instincts considering he's one of the only humans on the team."

Bryant chuckled, "Finely honed instincts thank you very much." He looked at Peter and he asked, "So what's next for the pack, are you looking at expanding now that things are a bit more settled and the kids are nearly ready to come home again?"

Peter and Chris both shrugged, Peter said, "We always expected them to bring partners home but instead they mostly partnered up with each other. It's unusual but we may look at bringing in more wolves at some point. I know Cora has a friend in town she wants to bring into the pack. She's a kitsune but her parents are avoiding us which is setting off alarm bells."

Chris added, "We got Noah to do a background check but it looked completely normal so we are not sure what their deal is."

Charlie offered, "I can take Townsend and we can visit them before we leave town and just ask?"

Townsend nodded his agreement, "Between us, we should be able to figure out what's going on, and if one of them is also a kitsune they may be less guarded around Charlie."

Charlie looked up and he saw Stiles and Derek dancing to their own beat in the middle of the dance floor, they were completely lost in each other and it was beautiful to watch. He asked quietly, "So when are they going to bond?"

Peter shrugged, "I think when it happens they will tell us after the fact. Even with all the PDA they are known to indulge in, they are a very private couple."

Bryant chuckled, "They have stayed under the radar at GWU and even during their summer internships. Most of their classmates think they are roommates rather than a couple. It's fun to watch them completely snow their classmates."

Peter admitted, "They know being anything other than straight is dangerous in a law enforcement role. I think they will come out, so to speak, once they are safe in one of Charlie's teams."

Jaden joined them puffing as he heard the end of the conversation and he agreed, "It would be dangerous, but honestly, I have seen those two sparring and I wouldn't screw with either of them. They have been well trained and when they are fighting as a team they don't even need words they read each other so well."

"Which none of their classmates have seen," Bryant admitted, "They haven't once sparred against or with each other in the FBI internship. It's only with the pack that they let that side out."

Jaden wistfully replied, "I wish I could be a fly on the wall when their classmates find out. The looks of shock will be awesome."

Charlie suggested, "When they are in the FBI Academy I think they will let the cat out of the bag at the end of their training, I can invite yourself and Connor along to observe the trainees. I am sure we can find an excuse."

Jaden and Connor both grinned and they said in unison, "Deal!"

Connor added, "You might want to invite Regina as well. She would love to watch her nephew in action with her nephew in law."

Charlie shuddered at the thought of the revenge she would instigate if she was left out, "Definitely. She is well known for holding long grudges and as you know from Stiles, the Gajos family are well known for creative methods of revenge."

Townsend asked, "Anything interesting happen in Beacon Hills lately? It's seemed quiet, dare I say it."

Peter shook his head. In the few years after Chris and himself took over as alphas of the region they faced a few threats, Deucalion brought Kali and Ennis in an attempt to take the territory from them as they felt Chris was an unworthy alpha as a former hunter, but they were shut down by the pack and the alpha council and the hunter council as things were at the time, both agreed to final termination of the three borderline feral alphas before their rampage was noticed by the mundanes. After that, there was a bit of trouble with chimeras, hybrid creatures created by phase-shifting doctors based under Eichen House, but with help from Regina, they were able to shut them down before any real damage was done. The few chimeras that survived were adopted into various packs around the Pacific Northwest.

Peter shook his head, “Knock on wood,” He reached out and touched the railing in front of him, “It’s been quiet since we eliminated the dread doctors. It seems cleansing the Nemeton was worth all the blood, sweat, and tears involved. The pack is slowly coming home from college, Stiles and Derek have a year and a half to go and the group in Boston shouldn’t be far behind. Maybe a year behind them.”

Chris mused, “It will be good to have the pack together again. I hate to think about how different things would be if I hadn’t decided to search out Peter and come home.”

Peter pulled him in for a kiss before he said, “Home, where you belong.”

**Author's Note:**

> I write for fun and escapism what you see is what you get. Thanks for reading my brainchild I hope you enjoyed it.
> 
> You can find me on Tumblr: [HarleyJQuinWrites.tumblr.com](https://harleyjquinwrites.tumblr.com/)  
> Or Discord: [Pigtails and Pens Discord](https://discord.gg/UVqY8HCJsW)


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